Applying for HK Working Visa
Tue, 2008-06-03 06:24 — tlucker
Hi,
I am a British Passport holder currently working in London and I have been asked to think about a position with my organisation in HK - the idea of this excites me very much, however I have tried to do some research about applying for working visas in HK, not for me, but my fiancee and I'm not sure things are in our favour.
Ultimately, whether I decide to look further onto this 'job offer' will very much depend on whether my fiancee can come with me without too much hassle. We plan to get married in February 2010, have been living together for 12 months and she is a New Zealand passport holder.
As she is not technically a spouse and I am the one with the 'job offer' and therefore thesponsorship of a working visa so, a.) what process, if any, does she need to go through to get a working visa and b.) if this is possible, how likely is it that she obtains the visa?
Thanks in advance for any help on this as I'm looking to put my mind at rest either way, once and for all.
Kind regards,
Tom
Spouse working
Hi Tom;
Well, in your case the options are pretty clear.
The Hong Kong Immigration officials don't care about any relationship other than marriage. That is, if you and your fiancee get married, she'll automatically have the right to work in Hong Kong as your dependent (assuming that you have your own working visa already arranged). Otherwise, she'll have to find a company to sponsor her for her own working visa, totally independent of your arrangements. There's no middle ground in this area. For further information/cases, see this thread, and this one.
There is one possible loophole: is your fiance between the ages of 18 and 30? If so, then this scheme might allow her 12 months of employment in HK.
Hope this clarifies things for you!
Mr Tall
Thanks Mr Tall. I suspected
Thanks Mr Tall.
I suspected that this was the case, but wanted clarification.
I suppose a possible saving grace is that she turned 29 last month, however being a New Zealander living in London, doesn't this make her exempt from this scheme as she doesn't currently reside in NZ and hasn't done so for nearly 5 years?
Tom
Better contact Immigration . . .
Hi Tom;
I've no idea whether her current residence makes any difference to HK Immigration; you'd be better off contacting them directly at this point, I think. They're usually pretty helpful!
Good luck!
Mr Tall