Desk research against primary sources, with the issuing authority linked where a page states an official fee, rule or deadline.
The 2024 shift widened which activities can be licensed against a virtual address, but it changed the default for common commercial activities rather than removing the office requirement altogether. Anything involving walk-in clients, stock, food preparation or regulated medical work still sits on the physical-premises side of the line, and that classification is set by the activity code on the licence application, not by preference.
Mainland licensing is where the physical-office expectation is strongest, and the sequencing matters: the tenancy contract generally has to be in place and registered before the licence itself can be completed, which means the lease search — not the paperwork at DED — is usually the step that actually determines how quickly the company can start trading once everything else is ready.
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