GEP intra-company transfers: what the Immigration Department expects

One policy, one facilitation measure

Unlike the United States, the United Kingdom or Singapore, Hong Kong has no distinct intra-company transfer category. A group moving a manager or professional into its Hong Kong entity applies under the General Employment Policy (GEP) for overseas nationals or the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP) for Chinese residents of the Mainland. The three substance tests are the same as for any hire: a genuine job vacancy; a confirmed offer for a job that cannot be readily taken up by the local workforce; and a package broadly commensurate with the prevailing market level for professionals in Hong Kong.

What changes for a group transfer is evidence. The Immigration Department's published facilitation measures state that proof of a local recruitment exercise is not required where the applicant is transferred from the employer's office outside Hong Kong to a managerial or professional post, has worked for the company for at least one year, is paid at market level, and the number of transferees sponsored at the same time is reasonable relative to the company's total staff and the nature of its business. ImmD adds that supporting documents may still be required depending on the circumstances of each case. The Government confirmed these conditions to the Legislative Council in November 2023 and said it had no plan to impose per-company quotas on intra-company transfers.

The four conditions, read closely

• Transfer from the employer's office outside Hong Kong. The overseas entity and the Hong Kong entity should be the same company or part of the same group, and the applicant's employment history should show the overseas office as employer. A consultant or contractor is not a transferee.
• Managerial or professional post. ImmD looks at duties, reporting lines and the Hong Kong organisation chart. A regional head with staff reporting to them, or a qualified professional applying a discipline, fits; a sales representative or an administrative coordinator generally does not, however the role is titled.
• At least one year with the company. Evidenced by the overseas contract, payroll and tax or social-insurance records. The year is with the company or group, not necessarily in the post being transferred.
• Market remuneration and a reasonable number. The Hong Kong package, including housing and other fringe benefits, should match comparators for the post in Hong Kong. A newly formed Hong Kong subsidiary seeking to transfer eight managers to a two-person office will be asked why.

Two other facilitation measures often apply alongside. Posts in Talent List professions or paying HK$2 million or more a year (including fringe benefits) do not require proof of local recruitment difficulty. And an employer that has obtained a visa for a non-local employee within the preceding 24 months, or is listed on the Main Board or GEM of the Stock Exchange, need not file the business registration, financial standing, company background, business plan and staff list documents.

What ImmD still examines

The facilitation measure speaks only to recruitment evidence. ImmD continues to assess whether the Hong Kong entity is a genuine business with a genuine need for the post. For an established subsidiary this is routine. For a new Hong Kong entity the file should show the business purpose, premises, funding, the services to be performed in Hong Kong and the staffing plan, because a vacancy in a company that does not yet do anything is hard to describe as genuine. ImmD also assesses the applicant: a first degree in a relevant field is the norm, and where the applicant relies on experience instead, the record should be specific. Nationality and residence rules apply unchanged: Mainland residents use the ASMTP; overseas Chinese nationals with PRC passports use the GEP only if they hold permanent residence overseas or have lived overseas for at least a year and apply from overseas; nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba and the DPRK are excluded.

The file

A well-prepared intra-company transfer file contains the following.

• Group structure chart showing the relationship between the overseas employer and the Hong Kong entity, with registers or certificates for each link.
• The applicant's overseas employment contract, payroll and tax or social-insurance records covering at least the preceding year, and a career chronology.
• The Hong Kong offer letter or contract: post, duties, reporting line, duration and the full package with housing and benefits itemised.
• Hong Kong organisation chart before and after the transfer, and the number of transferees being sponsored concurrently.
• Employer documents unless an employer facilitation measure applies, plus the facilitation measure relied on, stated expressly.
• Dependant documents: recognised marriage or partnership certificate, birth certificates, and evidence of accommodation and means.

ImmD states that new applications normally take about four weeks after all documents and the fee are received. The initial stay is normally 36 months on employment condition, or the contract length if shorter.

After arrival: the conditions that bite

The permission is tied to the sponsoring employer. A transfer to another group entity in Hong Kong, a secondment to a client, or a material change of role requires the Director's prior approval before it takes effect; the facilitation measure does not extend to post-approval changes. Extensions follow a 3-2 pattern on employment condition and are filed within three months and at least six weeks before expiry, with the applicant leaving Hong Kong before expiry if the decision is pending unless ImmD approves otherwise. After two years and HK$2 million or more of assessable salaries tax income in the previous year of assessment, the top-tier employment stream normally grants five years on time limitation only, after which employer changes are notified rather than approved. Dependants of GEP and ASMTP professionals may work and study.

Groups that run Hong Kong as a regional hub should keep one further point in view. The Hong Kong role, documented on the Hong Kong payroll with real managerial duties, is what a later authority elsewhere will read when the same person is transferred onward. The file built for ImmD is the file that will be read again.