Prepare for renewal
Check your stage and prepare your documents
Check whether this is your first or a later extension, then choose the guidance for employment or business. We explain which documents are required, which depend on your circumstances and which are suggestions for preparation.
Steps to prepare for renewal
Allow time to gather evidence, provide any further documents and collect your visa, as well as submitting the application.
Identify your stage and dates
Distinguish first and further extensions and plan the three-month and six-week milestones.
Step 2Choose the employment or business route
Build evidence around your actual employment, operations and residence.
Step 3Plan submission and the next steps in Hong Kong
Plan online submission, payment, collection, supplementary evidence and expiry.
Gather evidence of your work and pay,
and check your payslips against bank records
- Distinguish first and further extension requirements
- Contracts, duties, payroll and bank records
- Explain job changes and residence
How the business operates,
and what you do in it
- Company, sole-trader or partnership records
- Accounts, transactions, investment and operations
- Development plans, responsibilities and applicable records
Three dates to keep in mind:
add them to your calendar
Three months means calendar months; six weeks means 42 days. Prepare your evidence before the window opens and submit early within it.
Replace the prefilled date with your own permitted stay expiry date. No documents are uploaded.Use the limit of stay on your landing slip, or the permitted stay date on your latest extension permission or e-Visa. Do not use the visa entry-before date or your travel document expiry date. Immigration Department instructions- Submission window opens
- Three calendar months before expiry
- Latest submission date
- Submit at least six weeks before expiry
- Current permission expires
- A pending application does not extend your stay
You must be in Hong Kong when submitting, paying and collecting the extension e-Visa. Read the full submission guide
Choose the guidance that applies to you,
then check what to prepare
Use this checklist to track your preparation. Required documents, evidence that depends on your circumstances and editorial suggestions are marked separately. Check when each item applies.
Your contract, duties and salary records should reflect genuine work. Settlement and contribution requirements differ between the first and further renewals.
Read the complete guide for this routeEmployment renewal checklist
0 / 8 items ready| Ready | Documents and notes | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Valid travel document and current stay permission Include old travel documents, visa records and the latest e-Visa where applicable. | Common official documents | |
| Hong Kong identity card Prepare clear and complete copies as required by the online system. | Common official documents | |
| Employment contract Check the employment term, role and remuneration against your actual circumstances. | Route-specific evidenceWhere applicable | |
| Payslips and salary credits Match recent payslips to the corresponding bank statement credits. | Route-specific evidenceWhere applicable | |
| Detailed job duties Prepare the signed company-letterhead statement required by the relevant guidance. | Route-specific evidenceWhere applicable | |
| Residence and everyday life records Relevant leases, bills or family records can help explain your settlement in Hong Kong. | Editorial suggestions | |
| An evidence-linked explanation Explain work or business changes and substantial periods away using accurate facts. | Editorial suggestions | |
| Document index and clear scans Organise by category and date, checking for gaps and inconsistent information. | Editorial suggestions |
Ticks apply only on this page; no documents are uploaded. Editorial suggestions are not universal official requirements. Immigration may request further evidence for your case.
Complete guides and resources
10 guides · Page 1. Open an article for the full text, steps, checklists and official sources.
Being in Hong Kong for an online renewal
Understand when physical presence is required and how that affects travel, submission and visa collection. Check the online service separately, especially after a job change, document replacement or change of plans.
- Current arrangements require the applicant to be in Hong Kong at submission and when paying and collecting the relevant extension e-Visa.
- An online process does not mean an overseas process, nor does presence necessarily require visiting a counter.
- Check official submission routes first for job changes, short document validity, visitor status or expired permission.
Choosing useful evidence for a QMAS renewal
Leases, bills, payroll and business records often sit in different places. Bring them together around what actually happened, identify gaps or differences and leave out material that does not help explain the case.
- Identify the facts to establish before choosing documents. Do not simply upload every screenshot from daily life.
- Leases, banking, contracts and accounts serve different purposes. One record does not automatically establish every renewal condition.
- Our organisation methods do not add unpublished residence-day, spending or document-month thresholds.
Explaining your business for a QMAS renewal
Registration is only part of the picture. Connect the company structure, transactions, accounts, premises, people and investment to the business you actually run and your own involvement in Hong Kong.
- Incorporation and business registration establish existence; operating and transaction records explain what the business actually does.
- Prepare the company and operating documents in paragraph 77 as applicable. The guidance provides a specific alternative where audited accounts are unavailable.
- There is no fixed minimum turnover, investment or local headcount applying to every QMAS business.
Keeping every family member’s renewal on track
Partners and children may have different expiry dates, travel plans or replacement documents. Check each person’s status and evidence, then follow their submission, signature, payment and visa collection through to completion.
- Dependant permission is generally linked to the sponsor, but renewing the principal applicant does not complete everyone else’s case.
- QMAS dependants fall within specified schemes and the current three-month window and at-least-six-week submission requirements.
- Check each person’s documents, physical presence, signature and result individually.
Planning the dates for your QMAS renewal
Work backwards from your actual expiry to prepare documents, submit and arrange time in Hong Kong. Keep official deadlines, general processing information and your own contingency time distinct.
- From 1 March 2026, QMAS entrants and their dependants can generally apply within the three months before expiry.
- The current Guidance Notes call for early submission and, in all cases, at least six weeks before expiry.
- Submission, supplementary documents, approval, payment and collection are separate milestones. The original expiry still needs its own plan.
Preparing employment evidence for a QMAS renewal
Understand the different roles of a contract, payslip, bank credit and duties letter. Explain the real employment arrangement, including pay changes, a new job, probation or work across borders.
- A contract shows agreed terms; payroll and bank records show performance; a duties letter explains the work.
- Further extensions emphasise settlement and contribution in Hong Kong. Re-submitting an old offer letter is not enough preparation.
- Ordinary QMAS renewals do not have one official minimum monthly salary applying to everyone.
QMAS renewal documents: what applies to your case?
Identity records, employment or business evidence, family documents and supporting material serve different purposes. Match the official requirements to your circumstances, then check formats, readability and common omissions.
- Prepare identity and existing-permission records for mandatory official fields first, then choose evidence for your renewal route.
- Clarity, consistent dates and cross-checkable facts matter more than attachment volume.
- This guide separates official document lists from our organisation suggestions. Individual supplementary requests take priority.
QMAS top-tier extensions: status, assessable income and the five-year stay
Do not let similar names confuse the QMAS top-tier category with TTPS. Check your QMAS status and tax records, the previous year’s assessable income, the route for an early application and when the five years begin.
- This arrangement applies to people admitted under the QMAS General Points Test who meet the specified conditions.
- The measure is salaries-tax assessable income in the previous tax year, not company turnover, savings or an arbitrary total of worldwide receipts.
- Official FAQs allow qualifying applicants to apply before existing permission expires; approval generally grants five years from the approval date.