QOTW: What Do ImmD Make Of Getting Married Here When Applying For A Hong Kong Dependant Visa?
Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Family Visas, Your Question Answered / 2 responses
Does a simple trip to ‘city hall’ solve all your Hong Kong dependant visa problems?
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
I am American. I have just accepted a role in Hong Kong.
My employer is about to begin my visa paperwork to sponsor me for an employment visa.
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 the US.
However, I was wondering what the policy is on her coming to Hong Kong on a tourist/holiday visa and once in Hong Kong 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.
ANSWER
The clear and obvious answer to this question is no; of course, you should never get married for these purposes. However, sometimes circumstances prevail where there is a genuine life partner relationship between a loving couple who are planning to get married in any event. But because of changes in the career fortunes of one of them, they find themselves in Hong Kong with the possibility of being separated due to their then single status, even though they are clearly committed to each other as life partners.
In this instance, you can find yourself in Hong Kong and determine that the situation you are in—resulting from separation—may be too much to bear. This can encourage you to bring forward the plans you already had regarding your marriage.
Clearly, as part of satisfying the Immigration Department’s requirement for your relationship to be deemed genuine, this will all make perfect sense if supported by the correct documentation that speaks to the nature of your relationship in those circumstances. So, while you might desire for this to be a shotgun wedding, this isn’t the case at all. It would simply be a matter of bringing forward plans you had initially.
In that respect, you would be deemed a genuine couple, even though you have found yourself in Hong Kong in a situation that prompted you to advance your nuptials. Once you’re married, it becomes a simple matter of taking your application bundle to the Immigration Department and seeking permission for your spouse to remain in Hong Kong as your dependent under your sponsorship. At that time, the Immigration Department will assess the genuine nature of your relationship. If you can demonstrate that you can provide a roof over her head and food on her table, the Immigration Department will usually grant a dependent visa for one year in the first instance. After that first year is up, she will be granted the same limit to stay that you would have as her employment visa-holding sponsor.
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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.
Kate
Hi,
Thanks for your podcast answer it helped me understand the process so much better.
May I ask for your assessment on my situation as well please?
I am Hong Kong passport holder (Chinese) and my Fiance is Irish passport holder. I have been living in Ireland for 3 years and I met him here. We now are going to move to Hong Kong together. Same as a lot of couples here, we also would like to get married and get dependent visa for my Fiance. our conditions are:
– We scheduled marriage registry in hk on 10th June 2025.
– I have gotten a permanent job contract with decent pay in hk (good enough to support two of us), starting 16th June 2025.
– We will secure an apartment and get a rental contract soon before 16th June for both of us to stay. the length of contract is 2 years and the apartment is nice enough for two people to live in.
– We have a joint account to which both of us put monthly savings.
-We have dated for two and half years as of now and got engaged last Aug 2024. We have been cohabiting for more than 2 years now in Ireland, so we can provide immigration with all sorts of necessary proof to show our genuine relationship.
Given all above, I would like to start the dependent visa application one week after our marriage registration. Can you please share some advice based on your experience on our case ? Any potential challenges ?
Thanks a mil
Kate
The Visa Geeza
This should all be fine You apply for the dependent visa as a returning PR and adduce all of the evidence you cite as your means to pout a roof over his head and food on his table.