Please Help Me Help You By Asking Hong Kong Immigration Questions I Can Actually Answer!

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Refusals & Appeals, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas, Your Question Answered / 56 responses

IMPORTANT: Please note that we have no competency in Foreign Domestic Helper visas. Any such questions are best directed at an FDH agency who have significant experience in those types of visas.

I receive 70-100 questions a week on this Blog and most of these are very succinct, allowing me to quickly drill down on the key issues and deliver value by augmenting the extensive content on both this Blog and also our D-I-Y immigration guide, the Hong Kong Visa Handbook.

But sometimes, I receive questions that just leave me stumped.

Not that I don’t have an answer, it’s just that the questions are so broad, all-encompassing and devoid of meaningful detail that it is impossible for me to address them without spending hours setting the scene, working to assumptions and, most critically, covering ground that is already well traveled elsewhere on our websites.

Questions such as these which came in last week:

I m interested for HK immigration.  I have been living in Zhuhai for last 10+ years. I’m Indian , wife is Chinese, son 7 years Chinese passport and daughter 10 months HK passport.  My education is from India – BBA, MBA , PhD ( doctorate ). Kindly send me detailed policies, procedures, your fee structure to obtain HK resident permit. Good day.

and

I have got some questions regarding Immigration. I am based in UK on Student visa, I arrived here in 2010 and completed my Masters in Marketing & Innovation. I have got 7 years professional experience in Airlines Industry as sales / Marketing / Customer services expert and currently working with the leading Airlines in London,UK. I got married and my wife is graduated in Education as well as in Fashion designing. I have been visited around 14 countries for visit as well as for my official training. Kindly mention that can I apply Immigration from UK as I am on Student Visa. Second thing if I can apply what will be the process how long does it takes to get it done and third what will be the charges for all this process and fourth what type of documents,I required for me and my wife.

Here’s the problem with these 2 questions:

Red Question

The questioner is interested in immigrating to Hong Kong. Lots of people are and they all need a visa rationale for being here.

I have no clue as to why he wants to come to Hong Kong so I have no idea what kind of visa might be suitable for him.

Does he want to work, join in or establish a business, study, invest capital or take a punt as a Quality Migrant?

Is he seeking some kind of leverage from the fact that his daughter is a HKSAR passport holder (making her a permanent resident?)

I can guess, of course, but that just takes me down the path of assumption which is not productive nor, in fact, is it required as the Hong Kong Visa Handbook sets out the various immigration categories quite clearly, allowing detailed self-assessment prior to reaching out to me to fill in the gaps.

This is why I spent 12 months writing, producing and publishing the Hong Kong Visa Handbook in the first place.

The problem is further compounded by the fact that there appear to be 3 travel documents in play: Indian, Chinese and HKSAR.

Lots of complexity here.

Finally, is the request for detailed policies and procedures (along with our service fee information).

Again, without understanding this questioner’s circumstances, visa rationale for Hong Kong or the immigration background that led to one of their children acquiring a HKSAR passport, it is impossible for me to even conceive of a solution for them, let alone price it.

Green Question 

Do you see a theme emerging here? I have no idea what nationality this questioner is, nor what he wants to do when he comes to Hong Kong.

He wants me to lay out the process for all suitable visa types along with the documents for the same.

Where am I supposed to begin answering a question like this?

I want to help, I really do.

At the Hong Kong Visa Centre we are very transparent about our desire to provide knowledge, information and detailed insight into the Hong Kong visa process so that visa applicants can make informed decisions about their immigration objectives for Hong Kong.

We also are wide open to discourse, provide a 100% free Your Questions Answered service where I PodCast responses to your questions within 48 hours and, as any of our clients or people who know me will attest, I am happy to chat with anyone who has a Hong Kong visa problem or query and is looking for answers.

But please, for me to help you, I need detail.

This means an investment of time on your part, setting out the scene for me and reviewing our extensive immigration content on this Blog and also on the Hong Kong Visa Handbook.

Then when you’re ready, lay out your question and I’ll PodCast you a complete answer.

It only takes me 5-10 minutes to do this and affords other people in the future access to these Q&As, allowing me to add to the public Hong Kong immigration knowledge base which is building steadily over time.

If you pose your question in the very general manner of the 2 examples given above, you are effectively asking me to spend hours and hours composing a response.

This is time I simply do not have and anticipates me repeating the detailed material already covered in the Hong Kong Visa Handbook.

So, please.

Help me help you by asking Hong Kong  immigration questions I can actually answer!

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Can You Hold a Hong Kong Employment Visa Yet Be Unemployed, Travel & (Even) Work Abroad for An Extended Period of Time Yet Still Qualify for the Right of Abode Here After 7 Years?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Your Question Answered / 2 responses

First Published September 22, 2017

Is it possible to hold an employment visa, not work for your sponsoring employer and travel, live and possibly even work outside of Hong Kong through to the 7 years qualification mark and still qualify for the right of abode?

QUESTION

Hi Stephen,

I have a question regarding Hong Kong right of abode (permanent residency).

I have been working and living in the HKSAR for >5 years and my current employment visa allows me to stay till mid 2020 (by when I will have been in Hong Kong for almost 8 years).

I am planning to do some travels and short term studies around the world in the next year or so, or if any suitable opportunities arise, take on a full-time job somewhere outside of Hong Kong.

It won’t be a problem for me to come through Hong Kong every once in a while (say at least once every six months), but I wonder if the status of unemployment (despite an effective work visa) and limited time spent within Hong Kong could break my 7-year qualification for the application for right of abode?

What if I keep renting an apartment here – would this count towards ordinary residence?

Thanks so much in advance! Appreciate your kind help.

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PODCAST ANSWER

Podcast: Play in new window

What Kind of Visa Do We Need for a Technician to Undertake Highly Specialized 3D Scanning Work in Hong Kong That Will Last Only 10 Days?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Visitor Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

Does the fact that a piece of work to be undertaken in Hong Kong by a foreign national is project-specific and only going to last a few short days somehow obviate the requirement for an employment visa ?

QUESTION

We have acquired a contract with a company in Hong Kong.

We have one person that will be doing some 3D scanning work lasting just 10 days.

Can you tell me what type of Visa he will need?

Thanks.

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Is there such an animal as a Hong Kong employment visa for an independant contractor?

I will only be working in Hong Kong for six weeks – should I bother getting an employment visa?

How can an overseas company temporarily sponsor employment visa permissions for Hong Kong?

PODCAST ANSWER

Podcast: Play in new window

Can I Extend My Hong Kong Visitor Visa Due to Travel Difficulties Caused By COVID19?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in COVID CHRONICLES, Musing, VG Front Page, Visitor Visas / No responses

Can I Extend My Hong Kong Visitor Visa Due to Travel Difficulties Caused By COVID19?

What’s the deal if you come to Hong Kong as a visitor,  seeking to remain in Hong Kong as a visitor due to COVID19, such that you can’t “come and go” in the normal fashion that people historically have done, typically via what I’ve called the Shenzen shuffle, where even Macau is presently closed to this end, too.

Flying in and flying out of anywhere these days, inevitably entails some considerable exposure to an enforced stay in a Designated Quarantine Hotel.

Given the 2 weeks (or whatever it is, from time to time) that you must suffer as make your entry into Hong Kong as a visitor, what’s the attitude of the Immigration Department to extending visitor status?

Well, I can tell you now for at least 12 months, the Hong Kong ImmD have generally been positively minded towards extending visitor status for visitors who find themselves here, for some good reason and who can’t travel easily out of Hong Kong and therefore need to be availed of lawful status that will enable them to remain here to shelter in place, so to speak.

Consequently, as long as you have got a good reason for being here, you’ve got the support of a local resident, you have sufficient means to be able to successfully complete an extended period of stay as a visitor and you can show that you got a place to stay while you complete your extended period of stay as a visitor, at this moment in time, the Immigration Department are granting 30 day extensions almost routinely, if you’ve got all those positive circumstances in play for you, as underpinning the reason why you need an extension to visitor status.

There is another mechanism that the Immigration Department are deploying too, called discretionary leave to remain.

What this is all about is if the Immigration Department feel that your stay in Hong Kong as a visitor has reached the maximum amount of time that you’re allowed to remain as a visitor in Hong Kong under normal circumstances (typically that’s no more than 180 days continuously in a six month given period) then they’re not going to kick you out notwithstanding.

Instead they’re saying no, we’re not going to grant you an extension to your visitor visa, however, we’re going to give you discretionary leave to remain essentially it for another 30 days. And you’re expected to leave Hong Kong at the end of those 30 days.

They also give you a visa refusal letter along with a document in a sealed envelope that you’re supposed to present to the Immigration Officer at the airport when you leave clearing you to depart.

This document denotes that as long as you exit Hong Kong before the date detailed therein, you will not be deemed an overstayer so you are cleared for departure in those circumstances.

The good news is that our experience has been that the Immigrantion Department are positively considering subsequent applications for extensions to the discretionary leave to remain. and we’re not really seeing any instances of people being kicked out as visitors (but you MUST have a good reason for your subsequent extension).

Moreover, you need to be able to demonstrate that you’re not going to be a risk of breaching your conditions of stay by taking up unauthorized employment. That means you’ve got to have the funds and you’ve got to have a place to stay to cover the period that immigration are prepared to extend you for.

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Should You Ever Get Married Just for Hong Kong Visa Purposes?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Family Visas, Your Question Answered / 14 responses

The answer is no – you should never get married just for Hong Kong visa purposes!

But if you are in a genuine, long-standing, loving committed relationship and potentially forced apart due to an unexpected, or involuntary relocation to Hong Kong for work purposes and marriage was an inevitability anyway, then…

QUESTION

I am a New Zealand national. I have just accepted a role in Hong Kong. My employer is about to begin my visa paperwork to sponsor me.

However, my girlfriend is Australian and I want her to come with me and ideally also be able to work.

We are both 30 almost 31.

One option is a shot gun marriage here in New Zealand. However, I was wondering what the policy is on her coming to Hong Kong on a tourist/holiday visa and once in HK with me us getting married there?

Is that possible and if so once it has been performed can I get her added onto my Visa as a spouse easily enough?

Any advice is greatly received.

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My girlfriend is in detention prior to removal – if I marry her will she be able to get a dependant visa?

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PODCAST ANSWER

Podcast: Play in new window

Can I Extend My Hong Kong Visa Outside of Hong Kong Due To The Pandemic?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in COVID CHRONICLES, Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Sherpa, VG Front Page / 2 responses

Can I Extend My Hong Kong Visa Outside of Hong Kong Due To The Pandemic?

So the question is whether or not you can get an extension to your residence visa considered while you’re offshore?  Historically, you’ve needed to be back in Hong Kong in order to progress an extension of stay application, if you’re an existing resident.

The idea is that if you’re a resident of Hong Kong, you need to be in Hong Kong on the day that you apply for your extension of stay.

There has always been a mechanism for you to be offshore, and then come back to Hong Kong as a visitor after the date of your residence visa expiring, and then apply for what’s known as a reinstatement of your residence status for some good reason that’s kept you away from Hong Kong, on the date that your  residence visa was expiring. That reinstatement process is still there and has always been available.

But a few months ago, the Immigration Department enabled a process where you can be offshore and apply for an extension of stay.  The way it works is that you follow the normal procedures for extension of stay albeit you not being physically present in Hong Kong. You write a supporting letter, in addition to the normal documents that are needed for your extension of stay application and the process takes a bit longer. It’s a c. 6 week process, all told, and then you can make that application at the moment at least under the temporary epidemic measures in force at this moment in time.

Meanwhile, anytime within 12 months of the expiry of your current residence visa the Immigration Department will give you a new visa label that will enable you to return to Hong Kong anytime within six months of the date of the grant of the approved offshore extension.

That will then conceptually, if you think about it, give you a potential of up to about 18 months to return back to Hong Kong and have your residence visa be deemed as a back to back residencies throughout all the time that you’ve held it even if you applied offshore, and you spent some time offshore in the wake of your approval offshore before you return back to Hong Kong to activate it.

The key thing about that is that the visa label specifically denotes that it’s for all practical purposes, the back to back extension, and that has an impact on your ability to have it positively considered at the time that you apply for permanent residency after seven years if indeed that’s what you’re going to do.

But it doesn’t automatically follow that just because you’ve been able to get an offshore extension sometime activatable in those 18 months you will be able to qualify for permanent residency during that time. As a result of that mechanism being used in your circumstances, you still have to go and explain that was nothing in the pattern of your behavior that meant that you’re doing anything that was leading you to abandon your intention to remain permanently settled in Hong Kong throughout the time that you’re away as a result of the pandemic.

It does mean, however, that you can get yourself a back to back residence visa situation in play, which is half of the battle at least when you’re applying for permanent residency subsequently, but you do have to return back to Hong Kong within the timeframe that the Immigration Department have indicated which is, as I say, six months from the date of the visa grant offshore activate your approved offshore application.

1. Checking the status of your Hong Kong visa application online – Yeah Right!

2. Redundancy – The Process Pitfalls of an Expiring Hong Kong Employment Visa

3. Why I hate the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (and you should too!)

4. I’ve lost my job – what about my employment visa – will I get kicked out of Hong Kong?

5. What happens if you overstay your Hong Kong visa limit of stay?

6. How do you go about changing your employment visa sponsorship down at Immigration Tower?

7. Ask Me a Question!

8. Starting a business in Hong Kong

9. How do you go about applying for a Reconsideration of a previously refused Hong Kong employment visa application?

10. Must Have resources for a successful Hong Kong permanent residency application

An Open Letter To Mrs Carrie Lam From The People of Hong Kong

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Musing / No responses

14 February 2022

To:  Members of the Hong Kong SAR Government

From: Independent Citizens Against COVID Corruption (ICACC).