Choose the employment route matching identity and the job, then arrange full cooperation from the Hong Kong employer. Company ownership, a short performance or tourist admission does not automatically authorise work.
What to have ready
Before you start
ASMTP serves Mainland professionals and generally requires a genuine role, relevant education or professional ability, locally needed knowledge, skills or experience not readily available, and market-level remuneration. The General Employment Policy primarily serves non-Mainland applicants; Macao and overseas-resident Chinese nationals need their specific residence circumstances checked. Hong Kong or qualifying GBA-campus graduates should compare IANG. The technical-professionals stream and imported-labour routes have separate conditions and cannot be substituted simply because they all involve employment.
What to do, step by step
- Give the employer nationality, usual residence, qualifications and any current Hong Kong status to identify the scheme. Do not self-classify a Mainland resident as a GEP applicant merely because of another travel document or a short period abroad without meeting the relevant conditions.
- The offer should state duties, location, pay, benefits and period, with qualifications and experience linked to the role. Explain the expertise and hiring need. Any applicable facilitation on local-recruitment evidence does not waive the remaining employment and applicant requirements.
- The Hong Kong employer assembles registration, financial and business evidence. A new business supports the case with a genuine plan, funding and expected activities. Both parties provide their required records through the official service with applicable fees and retain the verifiable submitted versions.
- After approval, arrange the start within the permitted conditions. Mainland residents also obtain the Exit-entry Permit and relevant endorsement. Check the e-Visa and actual admission dates. For a later employer change, establish whether prior approval is required under the holder's particular conditions.
Costs, timing, and things to check
A person on employment conditions works only in the approved employment. Qualifying top-tier grants on time limitation alone are treated differently. Read the actual conditions before changing work and do not apply another holder's freedom to your own status.
A paid performance lasting only a few days is not automatically exempt. An owner carrying out daily Hong Kong operations also needs the appropriate immigration permission. Evidence must show the genuine employing business and role rather than an invented company or job created on paper.
A practical example
A Guangzhou engineer and the Hong Kong employer prepare an ASMTP case linking duties with project experience and the company's business records. A Macao colleague checks their GEP circumstances separately. Each starts work only under the permission actually issued.
Align identity, the genuine role and employer evidence before applying through the relevant employment route.
Official information and enquiries
These are the reference and service entry points for this guide. Check current fees, eligibility, and schedules with the authority. The preparation date is not each source's official update date.