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.
Renewal guidance
10 guides · Page 2. Open an article for the full text, steps, checklists and official sources.
When renewal evidence is still outstanding and expiry is approaching
A document deadline and the end of permitted stay may be different dates. Track the response, missing records and existing permission separately, and identify the arrangements that need confirmation from Immigration.
- A request means more information is needed. It establishes neither refusal nor guaranteed approval.
- The response deadline and your existing permission expiry are different dates. Track both.
- Unless special approval is granted, a pending extension does not remove the requirement to leave before existing permission expires.
Where to start with a QMAS renewal
If the checklists seem to conflict, start with your own permission and renewal stage. Understand first and further extensions and special categories before organising work, business and family evidence.
- Check the actual permitted stay in your e-Visa and immigration record, then confirm the assessment mechanism under which you were admitted.
- The evidence focus differs between a first General Points Test extension and further extensions. Do not simply copy the initial application file.
- Generally apply within the three months before expiry, at least six weeks beforehand. A pending application does not automatically extend existing permission.