TTPS Self-Employed Renewal: Two Addresses, Two Records

引子

Since its launch at the end of 2022, the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) had received over 70,000 applications and approved nearly 55,000 by the end of March 2024. The 24-month limit of stay for the first batch of approved applicants will begin to expire from the fourth quarter of 2024, and the Immigration Department’s renewal assessments have entered a practical phase. Applications by self-employed persons for an extension of stay must pass the “two addresses, two records” vetting framework—which, though not yet set out in writing, has been established in practice. This comprises a business registration address, an actual office address, together with Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contribution records and business operation documents. Those who fail to satisfy all four requirements simultaneously face a rapidly rising risk of refusal. This article consolidates the latest guidance from the Companies Registry and the Immigration Department alongside labour legislation to break down every step of the self-employed renewal process.

Policy Framework and Vetting Criteria for TTPS Self-Employed Renewal

Under the extension of stay application provisions of the Immigration Department’s “Top Talent Pass Scheme”, applicants seeking to remain in Hong Kong by establishing or joining a business (i.e. self-employment) must prove that their business is operating in Hong Kong, is capable of sustainable development, and contributes to the Hong Kong economy. In its assessment, the Department considers the following hard indicators: whether the business has obtained a business registration certificate, has an actual operating address, the number of local employees hired, turnover and profit, and MPF contribution records, among others. In the optimisation measures approved by the Chief Executive in Council on 25 October 2023, applicants for an extension of stay are further required to submit more detailed business proof documents. The list of such documents is set out in the notes to Immigration Department Form ID 91.

From January 2024, the Immigration Department markedly increased the frequency of spot-check on-site inspections of self-employed applicants. According to disclosures made by the Department in response to questions from the Legislative Council in March 2024, among the first batch of applications reaching expiry, about 12% were advised to supply additional documents for failing to provide substantive business evidence, and nearly 4% were ultimately refused or withdrawn. The vetting standard is gradually being aligned with self-employed renewals under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP), with the focus on excluding “shell companies” or cases that use virtual addresses as a substitute.

The Immigration Department’s Verification Logic Behind “Two Addresses, Two Records”

The so-called “two addresses, two records” refers to the four checkpoints that Immigration Officers apply when approving self-employed renewals, which reinforce one another:

1. Business Registration Address (BR Address): The applicant must hold a valid business registration certificate, and the address stated on the certificate must be the actual place of operation. The officer will check whether the address is shared with dozens of other companies in the same unit, or whether it is a secretarial company’s address. The Immigration Department is networked with the Companies Registry and can instantly query the number of companies registered at the same address.
2. Actual Office Address (Physical Office): In addition to the business registration address, the Department requires submission of a tenancy agreement, rates demand note, utility bills and the like, to prove that the address is genuinely used for the applicant’s business. A residential address may not be used as a business registration address unless prior approval for change of use has been obtained from the Planning and Lands Department.
3. MPF Contribution Records: Immigration officers will check whether the employer has opened accounts for employees and made regular contributions in accordance with the Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme Ordinance. Between October 2023 and February 2024, the Immigration Department referred 17 suspected cases of falsely reported employment records to the MPFA for follow-up, of which 3 involved forged contribution records.
4. Business Operation Documents (Business Vouchers): These include sales contracts, invoices, bank statements, purchase orders and the like, used to corroborate the actual scale of the business. Start-ups with no turnover must provide a detailed business plan and proof of third-party financing.

The above four requirements must be maintained continuously for at least six months before the renewal application is submitted. Where the operating period is insufficient, the Immigration Department may grant only a one-year temporary extension and require a further review next time.

Company Registration and Business Registration Procedures

A self-employed person conducting business in Hong Kong must first apply to the Companies Registry to incorporate a company, or register a non-Hong Kong company, under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622). The full procedure and required documents can be found on the Companies Registry website.

The practical steps are as follows:

• Devise a company name (which must not be identical to an existing name); availability can be checked through the Companies Registry’s “company search” system;
• Prepare the articles of association, setting out the share capital structure, directors’ powers and so on;
• Submit the Incorporation Form (NNC1) and the articles of association; the fee is HK$1,720 (at 2024 levels), or HK$1,545 if electronic submission is chosen;
• The Companies Registry generally issues the “Certificate of Incorporation” within four working days. In parallel, an application for business registration must be made to the Business Registration Office of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD); a one-year certificate costs about HK$2,150 (valid until the anniversary date the following year).
• After obtaining the business registration certificate, a corporate bank account must be opened within one month, and actual operating funds (recommended at no less than HK$200,000) injected into that account as proof of business start-up.

For applicants who have already incorporated a company but have no income for the time being, the Department will require submission of audited financial statements and management accounts to assess the sustainability of the business. In the 2023 TTPS self-employed renewal assessments, about 35% of applicants were asked to supply additional accounts for failing to provide complete records, extending the processing time by up to two months.

Business Address Compliance: From Tenancy Agreement to On-site Inspection

The authenticity of the business address is the Immigration Department’s central entry point in tackling “fictitious self-employment”. In the first quarter of 2024, the Department conducted 138 on-site inspections targeting TTPS self-employed cases, and in over 20% of them the address was found to be false or merely a mail box.

Key compliance points:

• Form of tenancy agreement: It must be a stamped tenancy agreement (i.e. with stamp duty affixed), with a term of no less than one year. Typical commercial property rents in 2024: a factory-building unit in East Kowloon costs about HK$15,000–25,000 per month, while a Grade B office in Hong Kong Island costs HK$30,000–50,000 per month. A residential address cannot be used for business registration unless it complies with the Buildings Ordinance and the restrictions in the land lease.
• Independence requirement: A business address may not be shared with several other companies as a secretarial company’s correspondence address. If more than 10 companies are registered at the same address, the Immigration Department will treat it as a “virtual address warning” and automatically trigger an on-site check. The “business address package” offered by secretarial companies (about HK$500–1,200 per month) may only be used for correspondence and cannot serve as an operating address, or the application will be refused outright.
• Preparing for on-site inspection: The applicant must ensure that staff are present at the office address, and that there is a company signboard and ordinary office facilities. Immigration Department staff will examine the tenancy agreement, management fee receipts, name cards, printed web pages and so on. In a refusal case in November 2023, when the officer arrived on site the unit was unoccupied, and the building management stated that the unit had been vacant for a long time; the applicant was subsequently refused and could not lodge an immediate appeal.

Statutory Requirements and Document Preparation for Hiring Local Employees

Proving that the business contributes to the Hong Kong economy, hiring local employees is an indispensable element. According to the Immigration Department’s internal assessment guidance (contained in Appendix C of the Entry Visa Examination Manual), the minimum employee threshold for self-employed renewal is two full-time local employees (non-relatives), who must have been continuously employed for no less than six months.

The statutory procedures include:

• Signing a written employment contract with the employee, stating the wage (which must not be below the Statutory Minimum Wage of HK$40 per hour, in force since May 2023), working hours, holidays and so on, and complying with the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57).
• Under the Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme Ordinance, the employer must register the employee under an MPF scheme within the first 60 days of employment, and make employer contributions of 5% of the employee’s relevant income each month. See the MPFA website for details.
• Keeping complete employment records: including attendance cards, payslips, bank transfer records, copies of employees’ identity cards and MPF contribution records. The Immigration Department will randomly call employees to verify their work situation.

In February 2024, the Immigration Department, together with the Labour Department, conducted a raid and found an applicant who had falsely reported hiring two local employees; in reality those two individuals were merely friends lending their names and did not actually go to work. Ultimately the application was not only refused, but the applicant was also subject to criminal investigation for suspected provision of false information. Under Section 42 of the Immigration Ordinance, any person who makes a false statement or provides a false document is liable, on conviction, to a maximum fine of HK$150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years.

Refusal Red Lines and Analysis of Recent Cases

Drawing together the refusal and appeal cases from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, the following pitfalls recur:

1. Using only a secretarial company address: In a refusal case in January 2024, the business registration address submitted by the applicant was a secretarial company’s address, while the actual operating address could not be proved. The Immigration Department refused the renewal, stating plainly that the address did not comply with the Business Operation Guidelines.
2. Hiring no local employees at all: Some applicants evade the employment requirement under the guise of “independent contractor”, but the Immigration Department applies a relationship test and deems this sham self-employment, refusing the case.
3. Internally inconsistent business documents: Invoices, bank credit records and the income shown on the tax return do not match. In one case, the applicant claimed annual turnover of HK$2 million, yet the bank account received only HK$180,000 in the whole year, leading to immediate refusal.
4. Failing the raid inspection: When the officer called, the unit was found to be a subdivided residential flat, or the company signboard was missing and there were no desks or chairs, leading to a finding of no genuine operation.

On the data side, as at the end of March 2024, cumulative TTPS self-employed renewal applications numbered about 2,300, of which about 1,800 had been processed; 108 were refused (a refusal rate of 6%), 62 were granted a one-year observation period, and the remainder were granted a normal two-year extension. Compared with the same period in 2023, refusal cases increased nearly threefold, reflecting a tightening of the vetting criteria.

Conclusion: Countering the Tightening Trend with a Document Trail

Entering 2024, TTPS self-employed renewal is no longer a simple matter of submitting a form. Using “two addresses, two records” as its anchor for verification, and backed by on-site raids and cross-departmental data matching, the Immigration Department is systematically weeding out applications that are not genuinely operating. For entrepreneurs who wish to continue their residence in Hong Kong, the only safe strategy is to complete company registration, lease a genuine office address, hire two or more local employees and make contributions on time at least nine months before the renewal expires, while building up a verifiable system of financial and operational documents. Any attempt to get by with a virtual address, a nominal employee or an empty financial statement will ultimately lead not only to refusal but also to possible criminal prosecution.

This article is for informational reference only and does not constitute legal advice. For renewal strategy in respect of a specific case, please consult a practising lawyer in Hong Kong.