Can I Apply For Right Of Abode If My Employment Visa Expires On The Exact 7 Year Anniversary Of My Residence In Hong Kong But I Have No Job On That Date?
Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Your Question Answered / 5 responses
Unemployed When Your Eligibility For Right Of Abode Accrues?
Can You Still Qualify For PR Even Without A Job …
First Published June 4, 2103
Do you need to be employed on the date that your 7 year anniversary of your residence in Hong Kong comes up which then allows you apply for the right of abode with the wrinkle that your current employment visa expires on exactly the same date?
QUESTION
I started working in Hong Kong with a working visa on 21st of April 2007.
Since then I have been continuously in Hong Kong, but have been made redundant this year.
My current working visa will expire on the 21st of April 2014.
Since I do not have a job, I will not get a new visa, so that day I will also have to leave Hong Kong.
My question: can I apply for the permanent residency on 25th of  April 2014 (as I have been at least 7 years now in Hong Kong, continuously, and I have decided to make it my home) and then leave Hong Kong and come back on a tourist visa while waiting for the -hopefully- approval?
Or just wait abroad untill they contact me? If not, what should I do to ensure that I at least qualify the requirements for application?
I love Hong Kong so much that it would be a shame to just lose the PR because of that small period I am missing.
Thanks a lot.
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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.
Shane
Hi Visa Geeza,
My dependent visa expires on the 31st of July. I will have completed my 7 years on the same day. I’m currently divorced and so my ex wife won’t be able to extend the visa for me to cross the seven years after the 31st of July.
I’ve applied for the elegibillty a few weeks ago and have been denied as it hasn’t been 7 years yet.
I am currently working, but for a company that doesn’t sponsor visas.
I’d like to know if it’s wise to wait until the 29th of July, a Friday, to apply for the elegibillty again or is it possible to apply for the permanent ID card straight on that day. I will still be two days short of 7 years also. Or is that too late, as they need time to process.
When would be the appropriate time to apply? What are my chances of being rejected? The 31st falls on a Sunday. Waiting for the approval for elegibillty takes two weeks, won’t I be considered overstaying on Monday the 1st of August even if I apply on the 29th of July?
Sorry for all the confusion, I’m very concerned about the time line, application dates, overstaying conditions while waiting for the elegibillty and whether or not I need an extension before the 31st.
Thanks in advance for any help you are able to provide to ease some of my concerns.
The Visa Geeza
You can only apply a maximum of 28 days before 7 year eligibility – which is why you were denied the first time. Your timing is highly problematic, especially with the 7 year anniversary falling on a Sunday – being also your present visa expiry date. I would re-submit immediately after the holiday (three days from now) and then one week before your expiry go to 25/F ImmD tower with your file reference number and ask to speak to the officer tasked with your application and explain your conundrum. Taking this approach you must be absolutely certain all the documents ImmD need to positively finalise your application in one go are in good order AND that you are 100% certain you are eligible for approval (back to back dependant visas for 7 years with no gaps, for example; no long absences from HK in that time etc).