Hong Kong Visa & Immigration Topics

I Have Lived In Hong Kong For 5 Years. Can I Extend My Work Visa For 2 Years, Quit My Job, Study Full-Time, Then Apply for RoA?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Your Question Answered / 8 responses

First Published October 9, 2012 – Still Relevant Whilst the implementation of Hong Kong immigration policy is essentially very flexible, as an employment visa holder, until you have gone on to receive the right of abode (RoA) or unconditional stay after seven years continuous ordinary residence, your permissions to remain in Hong Kong are governed very […]

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I Have Been Made Redundant But My Wife is Working – Can We Swap Our Hong Kong Employment and Spouse Visas Around So I Can Become Her Dependant in Hong Kong?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Your Question Answered / 13 responses

Hong Kong Employment and Spouse Visas – Can You Swap? First Published February 27, 2013 How Flexible Is The Hong Kong Immigration Department? It’s a situation that seems to happen all too frequently these days, especially in the banking sector. Can a married couple, both working, effectively swap their Hong Kong employment and spouse visas around? […]

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The Foibles of Hong Kong Visa & Immigration Applications That Only Experience Can Fully Appreciate

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in 60 Second Snapshot, Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Special Programmes, VG Front Page, Visitor Visas / 4 responses

The foibles of Hong Kong visa & immigration applications that only experience can fully appreciate – I originally published this post on April 29, 2013 and updated it on April 3, 2023…10 years on – some things never change… Hong Kong immigration & visa applications: both the Hong Kong Visa Handbook and the accompanying updates posted […]

How Can My FDH Visa Holding Fiance Transition into A Dependant Visa With 6-12 Months to Go Before We Get Married?

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

First Published June 27, 2018 Documenting proof of the genuine nature of your relationship is a condition precedent to the grant of a dependant visa with the burden of proof decreasing the longer you have been married. Consequently, the newer your relationship / marriage the greater the onus is on you to satisfy ImmD that […]

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Does Time Spent Outside of Hong Kong Working For A Hong Kong Employer Break Continuity of Residence for PR Purposes After 7 Years?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Your Question Answered / No responses

Time spent outside of Hong Kong working for a Hong Kong employer? This question has come up before but the questioner has assumed that his training visa will be extended subsequently so…  QUESTION I am married and have two kids aged 8 and 5. I have recently taken up employment in Hong Kong with a […]

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How Can My FDH Visa Holding Fiance Transition into A Dependant Visa With 6-12 Months to Go Before We Get Married?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Family Visas, Your Question Answered / 10 responses

Documenting proof of the genuine nature of your relationship is a condition precedent to the grant of a dependant visa with the burden of proof decreasing the longer you have been married. Consequently, the newer your relationship / marriage the greater the onus is on you to satisfy ImmD that this relationship does not exist […]

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Is it Better to Apply for Your Visa Before or After You Move to Hong Kong?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Musing, Special Programmes / 21 responses

This is an important question! As a matter of fact there are some types of Hong Kong immigration status where the rules are very strict about where you have to be on the day your application is formally submitted. For example, if you are applying for permanent residency, then you MUST be physically in Hong […]

Why Don’t Immigration Consultants Typically Help Aspiring Employees Find Jobs in Hong Kong?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Hadley Says… / 4 responses

Given that some countries, like Australia, organise their immigration policy to address skills gaps in their economies with specific temporary visa types, you might expect that Hong Kong would have a thriving job finding + visa service industry. We do, after all, issue more than 17,000 new employment visa approvals each year under the General […]

Will Redundancy Impact Your Eligibility for the Right of Abode in Hong Kong?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Your Question Answered / 8 responses

QUESTION Hi there, you provide a very helpful advice service, so thank you for that!  I have a few questions which I would like your advice on: 1. I have 1.5 years left towards my Right of Abode in Hong Kong application (been working in Hong Kong 5.5 years), but was recently laid off. Still […]

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Hong Kong Visas – The Long Stay Visitor’s Awkward Predicament

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in 60 Second Snapshot, VG Front Page, Visitor Visas / 25 responses

3 or 4 times a week I receive a call from people who have exactly the same problem.It happens so often now, that I can tell what the problem is within the first 5 seconds of our conversation kicking off. And 9 times out of 10 these calls all follow a similar story line. Namely….. […]