News & Insights

SFC licensing and compliance hints – Oct 2013

Visa requirements:SFC licensed representatives being relocated from overseas must have a valid employment visa sponsored by their employer issued from the Hong Kong Immigration Department which does not restrict them from being engaged in the relevant regulated activities.

Before employing a new responsible officer or licensed representative within Hong Kong, the employer should check whether the candidate is a Hong Kong permanent identity card holder. If not, the person should have an employment visa to work in Hong Kong. The candidate will need to submit a change of employment application sponsored by the new employer to the Immigration Department and can only commence work with the new employer after the Immigration Department has granted approval for the change of employment.

Both the applicant and the employing company will need to submit certain application forms and supporting documents, including the applicant’s original passport, to the Immigration Department. Normally it takes four to six weeks for the Immigration Department to process a change of employment application. The applicant will need to be physically present in Hong Kong on the day the application is submitted.

Got the name right? Some companies in Hong Kong have both English and Chinese names on their Certificates of Incorporation, but do not show both names on all stationery and agreements. According to Section 93(1)(c) of the Companies Ordinance, “every company shall have its name mentioned in legible characters in all business letters of the company and in all notices and other official publications of the company, and in all contracts, deeds, bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsements, cheques and orders for money or goods purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the company, and in all consignment notes, invoices, receipts and letters of credit of the company.” If a company has both English and Chinese names as its official name, they should be used in full in all circumstances mentioned above. Even though the Companies Ordinance does not list email signatures, with the increasing dominance of emails in our daily correspondence, it is advisable for email signatures to comply with the requirements. As an alternative to having both English and Chinese names as its official name, a company can adopt a Chinese name as a business name which can be used whenever the company wants.

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