Could a prolonged visitor hope to get Permanent Residency in Hong Kong?

Short and sweet question today, but an important answer so worthy of a PodCast answer (I get loads of questions each day and I answer all of those capable of an answer (many are not – eg “I want to work in HK can you get me a job and help with the visa”?) . The really simple ones get 2 or 3 sentence email responses, often containing links to previously answered questions).

Where an issue has not been addressed previously, its added to the PodCast immigration knowledge base which is slowly building over time. In any event, we’ll answer every question we receive so long as it falls within our remit to do so.

QUESTION

My female life partner has been staying in Hong Kong under a “de facto wife” visa of 6 months which has been renewed already for several years.

Would she be entitled to ask for permanent residency if she continues to get this kind of visa for a total of 7 years ?

ANSWER

When a foreign national secures a prolonged visitor visa in Hong Kong, effectively, the Immigration Department have done an assessment of the life circumstances of the applicant, together with their sponsoring partner in Hong Kong, and have determined that for the purposes of family reunion, they should effect a positive act of discretion and allow that person to remain in Hong Kong on an extended and a prolonged basis, subject to all the conditions of stay that apply to visitor visa holders.

Consequently, all time spent in Hong Kong as a visitor visa holder, irrespective of the rationale for the Immigration Department enabling the grant of the visitor visa to the foreign national, that time does not count towards permanent residency in the HKSAR because by definition it’s a visitor visa, it isn’t a residence visa and therefore it doesn’t qualify.

Consequently, this is one of the great downsides of having a prolonged visitor visa – it works in the short term to allow non traditional families to remain together, but, effectively it sets the couple on a dual track strategy. The partner who is sponsoring the visitor visa holder effectively is marching towards the potential for the Right of Abode after seven years whilst the prolong visa visa holding partner, unfortunately, he’s not.

So the answer to the question is in the negative, I’m afraid.

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