10 Must-Have Resources for a Successful Hong Kong Permanent Residency Application
Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Long Stay & PR, Musing, Resource, VG Front Page / 93 responses
Download the slides from my accompanying talk here. Watch my accompanying talk here.
Now that you’ve lived in Hong Kong for a minimum of 7 years continuously, you’ll no doubt be turning your attention to your eligibility for the right of abode and making preparations for a permanent residency application.
To help guide you in this effort, I have compiled all-in-one place 10 key resources on how to go about preparing, filing and then managing an application for a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card.
Please let me know in the comments below if you find them useful!
INFOGRAPHIC – Pathways to Permanent Residency in the HKSAR
PODCAST – Hong Kong Right of Abode Application – Consider Your Strategy & Plan Early
FACT SHEET – Your Hong Kong Right of Abode Application
CHECKLIST – Verifying Your Eligibility for a Permanent Hong Kong Identity Card
VIDEO – Time Spent Outside of Hong Kong With Work – the Impact on Your Right of Abode after 7 Years
PODCAST – Work in HK for 5 Years – Leave for 2 – Then Return – Will I Lose My Continuous Residence for PR Purposes?
VIDEO – Arguing Away Missing Periods of Residence in Your Hong Kong Permanent Residency Application
CASE STUDY – Right of Abode Approval Even With a Two Year Continuous Absence from Hong Kong
CASE STUDY – The Twists & Turns of an Unusual Hong Kong Permanent Residency Application
CASE STUDY – Winning a Hong Kong Right of Abode Approval in Record Time – Just 4 Days!
PODCAST – Overseas Chinese & the Right of Abode in Hong Kong
Please remember, if you ever have any Hong Kong visa or immigration related question, please feel free to Ask A Question and I’ll be happy to give you a PodCast answer within 48 hours, completely free of charge!
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The Hong Kong Visa Geeza (a.k.a Stephen Barnes) is a co-founder of the Hong Kong Visa Centre and author of the Hong Kong Visa Handbook. A law graduate of the London School of Economics, Stephen has been practicing Hong Kong immigration since 1993 and is widely acknowledged as the leading authority on business immigration matters here for the last 24 years.
MA
Dear Sir/Madam,
I hope this email finds you well. My name is Ali, and I am writing to seek clarification regarding the 7-year permanent residency requirement in Hong Kong.
For your reference, here is my immigration history:
Visa type: IANG Visa
IANG validity: Until 30 July 2027
PhD period: 15 August 2021 – 30 July 2025 (4 years in Hong Kong)
Total stay in Hong Kong (including IANG): Approximately 6 years (by July 2027)
I understand that to be eligible for permanent residency, I need to have resided in Hong Kong for 7 consecutive years.
My Questions:
To complete the 7-year requirement, I will need an additional 1-year visa (covering July 2027 – July 2028).
Is this correct?
During this additional year (July 2027 – July 2028):
Do I need to stay in Hong Kong continuously?
Or is it sufficient to enter Hong Kong every 6 months?
If so, how long must I stay during each visit?
The Visa Geeza
The acquisition of the Right of Abode by foreign nationals in Hong Kong represents the culmination of a multi-year commitment to the territory. Rooted in Article 24(2)(4) of the Basic Law and codified in Schedule 1 to the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115), the legal threshold requires a foreign national to have entered Hong Kong with a valid travel document, ordinarily resided here for a continuous period of not less than seven years, and taken Hong Kong as their only place of permanent residence.
The Approvability Test
For long stay foreign nationals in Hong Kong, the approvability test for the right of abode is to show that you have been continuously and ordinarily resident here for a period of not less than 7 years. You also need to demonstrate that you have taken Hong Kong as your only place of permanent residence and that any absences from Hong Kong during those 7 years have been of a merely temporary nature as evidenced by your intention at the time you departed on each occasion that you left Hong Kong and what you left behind to return back to at the end of each temporary sojourn abroad.
This standard distills the complex interplay between statute and judicial precedent into three foundational pillars: statutory continuity of permissions, the subjective and objective reality of “ordinary residence,” and the formal commitment to Hong Kong as one’s permanent home.
Establishing Practical Eligibility for Permanent Residency
In practical terms, satisfying the Hong Kong Immigration Department (“ImmD”) across seven continuous years requires clear and demonstrable evidence. ImmD assesses applications on substance rather than mere paper compliance, examining how the applicant lived their life during the qualifying period.
The first practical dimension is continuous lawful status under qualifying residence permissions. Time spent as a bona fide visitor or transit passenger does not count, nor does stay regularized following a period of unlawful presence. Crucially, the string of residence visas – whether under IANG, General Employment Policy, an investment/entrepreneur category, the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, or as a dependant – must remain unbroken. Lapses between permissions, administrative gaps caused by late extension filings, or periods where status had to be revived under discretionary conditions can fracture the continuity of the seven-year timeline.
The second dimension is the legal meaning of “ordinary residence” under Section 2(6) of the Immigration Ordinance. Following the landmark common law principles established in Shah v. Barnet London Borough Council and applied locally in cases such as Prem Singh, a person is ordinarily resident in a place if they reside there habitually, lawfully, and for a settled purpose as part of the regular order of their life.
Physical absence from Hong Kong does not by itself break continuity. Given Hong Kong’s role as an international commercial hub, regular travel is expected. However, when an individual is absent for extended periods – particularly stretches exceeding 180 consecutive days in any single year – ImmD places the evidentiary burden squarely on the applicant to prove that the absence was merely temporary.
This test of temporariness requires showing what was in the applicant’s mind upon departure and what remained anchored in Hong Kong during their absence. An applicant successfully argues away substantial absences if they maintain a continuous residential tenancy or home ownership in the territory, leave domestic belongings behind, retain active bank accounts and utilities, keep immediate family members living and schooling in Hong Kong, or travel pursuant to an employment contract with a Hong Kong employer whose payroll, Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contributions, and Salaries Tax assessments remain active throughout. Conversely, surrendering a lease, moving family members overseas, disposing of domestic assets, and taking up foreign employment break the thread of ordinary residence, resetting the statutory clock.
The final pillar requires the execution of Form ROP146 alongside the formal application on Form ROP145. Foreign nationals must affirmatively declare that they have taken Hong Kong as their only place of permanent residence. The Immigration Department assesses this declaration against the applicant’s objective footprint: regular tax compliance with the Inland Revenue Department, settled domestic arrangements, and whether their primary social, financial, and personal ties reside in Hong Kong rather than abroad.
Sarah
I have finally filed taxes in my 6th year, but in previous years did not make the significant amount of money to file… How crucial is it to include all 7 years of tax returns?
Thanks for your support through the years!
The Visa Geeza
Start the process without them and see if ImmD ask for them after submission.
PP
hi team, I complete my 7 years of my first landing to HK on June 28 but I will be travelling on that day.
As per discussion on this forum, can I still apply on June 1 as I will be in HK on on that day (submission day). Or is it the case that on both submission day and 7 year anniversary day, I mandatorily need to be present in HK?
Also I couldnt see this 28 day rule anywhere on ImmD website, does it have a source? Thank you in advance for your answer
The Visa Geeza
ImmD do not promote the 28 day in advance of the anniversary date. It’s an admin window we have fathomed across 30 years of practice. If you submit before your anniversary you must be in HK on or after the day of your anniversary. Otherwise you have not completed a full 7 years residence until you get back. ImmD will just deny you and tell you to submit again.
PP
Noted, Will submit once back to HK then after a week. Thanks for your reply
Arc
Hi! I have reached my 7th year in HK last August but I was away since January 2020 and was not able to come back to HK due to the pandemic and travel restrictions. I was able to come back last October since quarantine in HK has become lenient.
Am I still eligible for permanent residency? Currently, I am resident of HK as a dependant and still continuously paying my taxes and I am still working with the same company here in Hong Kong since 2015.
The Visa Geeza
Without knowing ALL the details, it sounds to me on the basis of what you describe, that you should be still eligible for PR in HK.
Jasvir singh
My dependent visa 4 yerars after divorce and new job crate employee visa counties 3 years now permanent visa allowed tel me plz
The Visa Geeza
I’m sorry – I simply cannot understand your question. Please rephrase it fully
Chris
Hi,
I am eligible for Permanent Residency in early November 2022, but also plan to leave my current job in mid november 2022 (with my sponsored employment visa expiring in 2023). I intend to stay in Hong Kong to look for a new job. Therefore, will it be fine to:
1. Inform the ImmD upon my resignation that I have resigned but plan to stay in Hong Kong to look for a new job, and
2. Apply for my permanent residence in early October 2022 (28 days before my 7 year anniversary).
Would the resignation have any impact upon being able to stay in Hong Kong / my permanent residency application.
Thank you
The Visa Geeza
Yes. I have replied personally to you the details.
Dave
Hi
Is the 7 year anniversary counted from the date the first residence visa was issued or the date of first landing in Hong Kong on that visa?
I also understand that you can apply a month before the 7 year anniversary. Do you need to physically be in Hong Kong on the date you submit your application or on the anniversary date? What happens if you then needed to travel when the anniversary date hits……would the application be rejected or just shelved until you return?
Thanks
The Visa Geeza
1 – from the date of first resdience visa activation by landing under that status
2 – maxmumim 28 days before
3 – yes physical presence needed in HK at the time you submit AND also on or just after your 7 year anniversary.
If you’re not in HK on/after your 7 year anniversray they will close the case and take no further action.
Jo
Hi, I’ve been living in Hong Kong continuously and will hit my 7 year mark in August 2022. However, I saw in your checklist that #4 copies of all tenancy agreements are required. I do not have copies of my leases for the first 3 apartments I lived in (the 1 month serviced apartment my work put me up in + the 2nd / 3rd apartment I’d moved to; am currently on apartment #5). What do you recommend in this case? I’m not sure if I reach out to my old landlords that they will be responsive.
The Visa Geeza
Don’t worry about it too much. So long as you were physically in HK for the majority of the time the criticality of TAs falls away.
Em
Hi
I have been living in Hong Kong on working visa and it’s going to reach my 7th year in Hong Kong by the end of March 2022, is it possible to start the application of PR now?
Also, what would be the best document as the proof of 7 years continuous residence in Hong Kong. Is the passport with all the working visa stamps good enough?
The Visa Geeza
Yes you can start now. But you must in in HK on your 7 year anniversary and hold a resdience visa in the days after untiul your PR application is approved.
Documents? See: http://www.hongkongvisahandbook.com/contents/RightofAbode/HongKongRightofAbodeChecklist.pdf
Andrew
Hi there,
I will reach my continuous 7 years with Working visa in Hong Kong in November 2022. However, I am now overseas since December 2021 and will not return until April 2022. I am still working in the same HK based company but working on a project in a different country. Due to the company travel restrictions, this is considered a personal rather than business trip.
My questions:
1. Will the 4 to 5 months away from HK risk my eligibility to apply for the PR?
2. Since I am away for 4 months, does it mean I have to wait for 7 years and 4 months before applying for the PR?
Note: I am still paying for my rent in HK and still receive my salary in HK and pay the taxes as normal.
Thanks.
The Visa Geeza
1 – No
2 – No
On the facts as I understand them, your eligibility for a Permanent Hong Kong Identity Card will be maintained.
wasi
hi sir, im wasi from hong kong I live in hk last 5 years and my visa stats is marriage visa I already got my last 3 years visa but my wife my relationship is not good if shes apply divorce and id shes win then can I able get hk permanent id or immigration deport me.plz help me
The Visa Geeza
If your dependent visa is good until after the 7 year mark then the fact of divorce will not impact on your eligibility for PR so long as your DV lasts all the way through and past your 7 year mark.
Saima
Hi .. I am saima from Pakistan .. actually next month I need to apply for permanent residency because the completion of 7 years … but the question is I only stayed in HK for 2 years and rest years in Pakistan because of my son… my son was having his treatment from Pakistan.. he can’t walk but after treatment he can walk … the treatment is still going on… and this is my valid reason to stay in Pakistan… can I get permanent residency after justifying??
The Visa Geeza
I doubt it but it depends. You will only know if you try.
RVDHK
Hi,
I have been living in HK for the last 6 years on work visa. Now i have left my job and my visa is expiring next month. My next job offer and visa sponsorship may happen after my current visa expiry. In the mean time I am planning to stay in HK on a visit visa. Will it affect my PR application? Will my current visa expiry and a small gap in its renewal negatively impact my chances of getting a PR next year? Please advise.
Thanks & Regards
RVD
The Visa Geeza
Yes it will. Under no circumstances should you allow yourself to slip into visitor status as it can lead to the loss of of your continuous ordinary residence.
ryan lau
Absence for 6 months
If I work in mainland China and come back once a month to Hong Kong will that be fine?
The Visa Geeza
Fine for what?
usma
hi how are you , I am from Pakistan , I have one company in hk ,, but due to my nationality I cant open my account after a very long interview , then my chinies frined help me for shanghai account but that account is belongs to my comoany account in hk by handeling some lawyer .. I have question whats the way to get pr can I use my company registration for help getting pr if yes please tell me , if any other way .. I am business man imprt from china and send to Pakistan . I hav same company in Pakistan also .. waiting for your reply
regard
usma
The Visa Geeza
You can’t do any of this. Immigration in Hong Kong doesn’t work in this fashion. Please review this website to check the process for the various immigration projects in Hong Kong.
Surja
Hi there me and my husband both have right to land in hongkong I wonder if we can hire a domestic helper as We have no permanent residency now tq
The Visa Geeza
Yes you can, so long as you live and work in Hong Kong presently.
Alex
Hi
I have worked in hk for 5 and a half years and need to leave hong kong for a new job abroad. I have bought a property here and my wife Is already a PR having lived here for more than seven years and my son is a hk resident having been borned here.
What can I do to successfully apply for PR. In my new job, I will be coming back to Hk quite frequently.
Thanks for yr advice.
The Visa Geeza
Hello Alex – effectively you need to put in place all of the criteria that the HKID need to conclude that your absences from Hong Kong in the run in to the 7 year mark are of a merely temporary nature only (as evidenced by what you leave behind to return back to at the point of each departure). If your family are remaining here whilst you work abroad that will be sufficient so long as your absences from Hong Kong are no longer than 6 months and you maintain your dependant visa at all times (I assume you have such a visa given that your wife is a permanent resident). I have covered this topic previously in this blog post. Good luck and thanks for your question!
pacita soriano
I just want to ask , a domestic helpers in Hong, if we stay here for 7 yrs, how much money they need to be qualified to apply for a permanent resident in HONgKong…been working here for 15yrs…thanks a lot and more power….
The Visa Geeza
Hi there – thanks for stopping by and asking your question. At this time, Foreign Domestic Helper visa holders are not eligible to apply for permanent residency as the time spent in Hong Kong under this type of visa does not constitute ‘ordinary’ residence. The situation is subject to litigation presently so things might change. Keep your eye open for big news on this subject in the coming weeks and months ahead.