Leaving Hong Kong after 17 years!

We've been living in Hong Kong for the past 17 years. 
We finally decided to break free and live a life off the beaten tracks.
Risking it all for a year of adventure and probably of discomfort. 

It's now time to bid farewell, and little did I know it would be so admin heavy. 

So here are the things you need to do on top of the usual moving out process if you want to claim your MPF and leave Hong Kong.
Please make sure you do all of it at least 1 month or more before your final departure date (more if you need to consolidate MPF accounts, it can take from 3 to 6 weeks for a transfer!)

3 STEPS

1. Inland Revenue:

Ensure that your taxes are settled before leaving Hong Kong.
Your final paycheck will be withheld by your employer until they receive confirmation from the Inland Revenue (IR) that your tax obligations are cleared.

• Your employer must complete IR56G
  
  
• If you don’t have an employer at the time of your departure, simply email the IR at taxinfo@ird.gov.hk to notify them of your departure.

For a quicker resolution, consider visiting the Inland Revenue office in Kai Tak.
It's best to go in the morning (or right after lunch at 1:30pm), as they need time to process your information.
They will provide you with all the necessary forms and guide you on the next steps.

Explanation here

Once all of the above is done, you just need to pay your balance taxes. 

2. Home Affairs department:

Next, visit the Home Affairs Department to formally declare that you are leaving the country.
You will need the officer to sign a document, which is required for withdrawing your MPF.

Make sure to print and fill up this form MPF(S)-W(SD2) before you go.

Here are the addresses and schedules for the oaths.

3. MPF:

Once you have the documents from the Inland Revenue and the Home Affairs Department, you will need to fill out additional forms to withdraw your MPF.

• If you have multiple MPF accounts, it's advisable to consolidate them into one using the INPM consolidation form first. 
  
  
• Next, claim your MPF withdrawal using form INPO and include the signed document from the Home Affairs Department along with the IR tax clearance letter or payment receipt.

And voilà, you’re almost there! Just one step closer to leaving Hong Kong.

4. MISCELLANEOUS:

Once all of those heavy duty admin tasks have been done and all the MPF has been received.
We didn't transfer back our money to Europe. Because of fiscal reasons. 
We just left it in our accounts. 

• The Euro/HKD was favorable to us at that point so we converted some into our local HK bank.
  
  
• We didn't want our money to just sit there, so we put a big chunk into a time deposit for a 3.3% yield rate while waiting for know how to invest that money (not financial advice, I'm just describing what we did) 
  
  
  
  
  
  

 

Follow us to know what becomes of us after living the comfortable expat life!