Need a DH by August

I just got a new job that starts Aug. 20th and we need to find a DH by then. Is it even possible to get through all the paperwork process in this time frame? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as this will be our first DH. Also, is it inappropriate to ask a DH at the interview if she is a Christian???

It is possible. 6 weeks would be pretty fast but it is possible. Not guaranteed though. You never know with immigrations. I would say 10-12 weeks on the outside. Your best bet is to get someone in HK who has just finished or is just finishing a contract.


I sent you a PM with a good agency name yesterday. They handled everything from start to finish for us in 7 weeks if memory serves.




"Also, is it inappropriate to ask a DH at the interview if she is a Christian???"


Unlike in the US or Western Europe, all that stuff tends to be spelled out in the resume. So it's not inappropriate in a legal sense and doesn't even raise eyebrows. Ask away.


If she is a Filipina, the most likely religion is Catholic, followed by various evangelical groups. So finding a Christian, and by this I assume you mean a protestant or evangelical affiliation, should not be a big issue. Sorry if I am jumbling any of that. I'm not an expert on this stuff. If she is Indonesian, she will most likely be Muslim.


I'm going to offer some unsolicited advice and say that the religion should not be a dealbreaker. There are more important things to look for in a helper. If you are x and she is y, this never needs to come up. She'll go to her church on Sunday and that is normally the only impact. But it's your helper and your decision.

Does it take less time if the helper is leaving her employer because they are leaving HK permanently? We also wanted our DH to be able to start ASAP and thought this was the case. In fact, we are in the process of employing such a person and she has told us that the visa will will take 2 to 3 weeks. This seems to be contrary to everything else we are seeing. We were hoping to be able to take her on vacation with us but this is starting to look impossible even if 7 weeks is possible.

There is absolutely NO guarantee. So it's best to assume the 6-8 weeks than presuming your papers will be all done in 2-3 weeks. I have seen recently some DH's files are not processed until 12 weeks. New rules and regulations implementing, especially with filipinas.

"Does it take less time if the helper is leaving her employer because they are leaving HK permanently?"


As Momoftwo says there is no guarantee. However if you hire someone already in HK there is less risk of the deal falling through IMHO.

it is indeed possible tho - we had ours processed in about 4 weeks - i had to write a letter to Immigration department that I need her urgently (which i did, i was on my own with 5 month old twins) - and it worked i guess - 4 weekes from start to finish - we did use an agency tho - and the helper was already here in HK - tooks us something like 3 months to get our second one from Phil.