A change of status visa application is required when an applicant changes his/her immigration status regardless the current work visa in Hong Kong is still valid or not.
A change of visa status might involve a dependant spouse divorcing and receiving a job offer or an employed person deciding to start his/her own business. In the first instance the applicant has to change from a dependant spouse visa for a work visa, and in the second, a work visa for an investment visa. However, the most common is changing from a visitor visa to a work visa.
Prism’s Visa Consultant Service Involves:
- Provide visa consultation service regarding to the documents required for the appropriate visa application;
- Prepare a tailor-made document checklist for the applicant;
- Complete all necessary Immigration forms;
Review and organize the collected documents in favor of immigration policy; - Suggest alternative documents if the applicant is not able to get the listed documents;
- Submit the application to Immigration Department;
- Reply on the applicant’s behalf to all enquiries and correspondence from Immigration Department;
- Prepare and draft all letters required for submission to Immigration Department;
- Monitor the application process;
- Keep the applicant updated on the status of the application;
- Accept the approval and have the visa endorsed onto the applicant’s passport.
Application Procedure:
- Free consultation regarding to the change of status visa application;
- Advise the applicant and the sponsoring company on their alternatives and the likelihood of success;
- Obtain the applicant/sponsoring company’s signature on the letter of engagement;
- Obtain deposit payment;
- Prepare a tailor-made document checklist for the application;
- Complete immigration forms, drafts and letters;
- Review the collected documents to ensure they are correctly presented;
- Draft all letters required for submission to Immigration Department;
- Ongoing liaison with Immigration Department;
- Reply Immigration Department’s enquiries on the applicant’s behalf;
- Accept the visa approval and have the visa label endorsed onto the applicant’s passport.
Documents Required:
- A Change of Status Visa application form ID(E) 91/990A/999A with the applicant’s signatures;
- A Change of Status Visa application form ID(E) 990B/999B with the sponsor’s signatures;
- Copy of the applicant’s passport;
- Copy of the documents which fit to the change of visa status’ application.
Processing Time:
The visa application process normally takes 4 to 6 weeks from the date of submission.
Remarks:
- At the discretion of Immigration Department, the visa is valid for 1 or 2 years.
- No new visa label will be issued if the current visa label is valid for more than 9 months.
- A change in status visa category does not alter the status of the applicant’s Hong Kong Identity Card.
