Want the same rights....

Athalonia, you say "yet they have a WORKING VISA ALSO, AND THE LAW STATES THAT SHE CAN BRING ME OVER..." unfortunately your wife does not have a working visa, she has a DH visa where there different criteria and rules. For an ordinary employment visa, yes you can bring your dependants, but what your wife has is not an ordinary working visa and she therefore cannot bring dependants. From the Immigration Department's view, a dependant should be dependent on the sponsor. Your wife doesn't earn enough money to support you so therefore you cannot be her dependant. There's nothing to stop you applying for your own employment visa if you have special skills not readily available in Hong Kong and then getting your wife to become your dependant.

Athalonia, when you stayed for 8 months, walking dogs etc, did you have a working visa? Talking about fairness (and assuming that you didnt), thats not exactly fair to all the tax payers here.


I feel sorry for your situation, and i appreciate that you are trying to go about this legally, but your only loophole to stay here longer than your tourist visa allows, would be to do the back and forth trip to Macau, however, you would be working illegally to support yourself. Not recommended for the long term (or the short term).


Regarding the matter of discrimination.. thats a pretty strong word to use. OFW's are not forced to work in HK, they come here by choice, because they are still better of working here than in their own country (and they are the first to admit to that). We all have to accept the laws of the country we enter, OFW's included. If they cant accept this, they shouldnt come in the first place.


In anycase, goodluck with finding a solution.

The minimum wage in HK is $28/hr.. many do not even get paid lunch breaks. If you calculate a 40 hour week at $28/hr.. thats a monthly wage of around $4500 HKD/mth. And as WonTonNom pointed out, these workers do not get accomodation and meals included, infact many live in 110 sq/ft cages.. now thats tough,.. yet they dont cry discrimination.


That fact is that there are reasons for needing sufficient funds to migrate or sponsor a person. These are quite obvious so there is no need for me to point them out. This is a quite standard policy for most countries... hardly dicrimination.


As far as being overworked, yes i agree many people in HK (DH's incldued) have tough working conditions.. but thats life. But unlike some HK residents, DH's have a choice to come here or not.

Wow. Just have to say, that your posts are incredibly hard to read.

1. you cant state your opinons on a separate matter and then have others put an opinion on your opinion.

2, Dont state my 'USA'. You're assuming that the people on this board have not been to the USA or are from there. for me.. born and raised in PHX.

3. Think about where you are posting.. an expat board where majority of them have DH. Thats like walking into a local bar from your town and saying "you white people are racist" thats just.... not smart.


---------

Back on topic.

Bottom line is that the US govt does not recognize your marriage AND since your wife is on a DH visa she cannot sponsor you in HK.


You're out of luck, its just not meant to be in locations HK or USA. Why not try Phillippines?

Athalonia,


1. Actually let me rewrite my 1st point.. you cant write a strong statement on that and NOT expect people to put their own opinions on that.

2. Fine, but re-read what you wrote. its hard not to read too much into it.

3. The racism thing was just a side point, it was not the main point of my statement. It literally had nothing to do with white people or not. i was just using it as an example of arguing against the majority. And yes i got your previous point way back when you had a long rant off of Kiwi's post.

4.did you just call me a troll?


Stop saying "in the USA" you missed my point in number 2.


You've exhausted all your options on this board without starting a "flamewar". Thanks and GTFO

Athalonia , if you would like advice soley on how you can move to HK to join your wife, then perhaps you should repost your add and leave out the politics:


"...is only fair, as this blatant policy discriminating agianst what appears to be the least paid people in HK..."

"...as well to see some expats also get involved in voicing fairness over those OFW that should be entitled to have same rights as expats with regard to residenct and spousal status..."


Reading the other posts, it seems its not me that needs to focus, as my comments regarding discrimination and wages in HK stem from your posts. As i have said, i sympathize with your situation, but some of your assessments are bizarre.


I have also been into stores (a bottle shop) where i received the same treatment of "dont touch".. i would hardly call this discrimination! Every store is entitled to their own policies. Rather than bitch about it, i simply dont go there anymore, as there are many other shops where i can go! But hardly discrimination!!


Do you think you are generalizing when your assumptions are based on a few experiences? You say the Chinese are like that.. what all 1 billion??!!


And as wontonnom pointed out, what your wifes boss earns is irrelevant. That fact is that DH's recieve their wage according to supply vs demand.. there are plenty of people willing to do it, hence the low wage. This applies not only to DH's but also the street cleaners in HK!


BTW, you should tone down your voice a bit, the ED might dislike some of your vocabulary. And i likewise find your comments about CHinese people offensive!

I have been travelling quite extensively in the world. There is one thing that I will never do is to make stupid comments about the locals while walking on a busy street in their country. This is not about freedom of speech but respect to the local people and not to invite / create fights on the street and then get injured and not be able to fly home.


If I am not familiar with the culture or system in that country, I would listen rather than talking and talking and making laughable or offensive naïve comments about the country/people. It is also unwise to talk as if you are better and more superior than the local people. Again, this is not about freedom of speech but being a polite, respectful and sensible person.

If I have missed deleting any unacceptable comments please copy and past the first few lines of where the comments are buried to save me reading through some of these very long posts... thanks

athalonia, it baffles me why you did not check out the immigration laws BEFORE you got married. Surely you would have realised that your wife coming from a developing country in Asia on a low wage would not have been easy.


To quote you, "For me..I would expect my own white skin people to treat the OFW with the best they can for what they do...but a sign of the times is that many prosper and do not feel any conscience to pay what their helpers are worth...cause they can...sad indeed..."


Why would you expect only white skinned people to treat DH the best they can? Surely we should expect ANY human being to treat another human being with respect? I don't see the need to bring skin colour into this. You don't expect Asians to do the same thing and treat DHs with respect?? Just because a DH's employer may be a multi millionaire, why should we expect them to pay more for their DH than the market rate? Would you expect that same millionaire to pay walk into a hair salon and pay more for his haircut cause he is richer? That would be discriminatory.


So you think DHs are getting a hard deal and not being treated fairly - don't forget this is ASIA and our way of life and culture is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT to that of the US. You cannot compare based upon what you hear from your wife, the small amount of time you have spent in Asia and the little that you have seen with your own eyes. Long hours are pretty normal in Asia for any worker, be it a building security guard, DH, banker, lawyer, hairdresser, secretary, restaurant worker, etc. You also mentioned that someone was willing to employ you to be their driver - a family who is able to afford a driver is somewhat better off than your average joe in HK - would you expect them to pay you more because of this? If they are white, would you expect them to pay you more because they are the same "white skinned" type of people that you are?


I get the feeling you haven't been in Asia much (probably only HK and Macau) hence why you did not realise that many local HK people earn pennies and really struggle to survive. I hope the glitz and glamour of the city didn't fool you. Poverty is rife throughout Asia overall but you know what? Asians and others living in Asia just deal with it. That is life. You just work hard and get on with yours rather than spending time wondering at the injustice of why others are richer/better off than you are. As other posters mentioned, some DHs have it MUCH BETTER than these local chinese. If a DH is lucky and finds a good family, she will be compensated very well and im sure it would not be unusual for the DH to be given a good bonus or very generous lump sum upon their retirement if they have been with a family for decades.


As your wife is a DH, im sure she would have told you stories about how terrible DHs can treat their employers? Stealing, being lazy, borrowing money from loan sharks who turn up at their employers family home making threats or just running back to their home country without notifying their employers and in some cases, taking money and jewellery, etc. It works both ways. There are both good and bad DHs just as there are good and bad employers. You need to understand this and stop thinking that all DHs get a hard time in HK.


Sorry to say this but it sounds like it ain't gonna happen for you both to live in the same place. Realistically, you would struggle to survive in HK. Yes you live within your means and don't spend alot and you may think that you proved it to yourself the whole 8 months you spent in HK but let's get real here - you would earn a pittance doing a crap job and whilst you survived for 8 months, you need to look into the longer term. What about saving money? Your pension? Paying US taxes? healthcare? (you would not be able to afford private healthcare and ineligible for HK state healthcare), you would not have any of the simplest things that you probably take for granted right now living in the US. VERY SMALL living spaces, you would have to eat local foods bought from local markets (nothing wrong with this, just making the point that you can't get much western food there) and could not buy all the other tasty food that is available in the US. How would you afford to visit the US to see friends and family? No much money for cable tv or internet or the occasional nice meal out. No car either.


You should have thought about all of this before you got married and also about what you say before you say it.

Hi Athalonia. There seems to be a lot of slagging to and fro above, and not much constructive information. You seem a little distracted from what should be your focus. It's not about rights, laws and discrimination, it's about how you can be with your wife. You love her, and want to make a life with her. Everything else is irrelevant, so STFU, and put it out of your mind. Focus.


There is one simple solution that hasn't been mentioned once so far... Hit "Ctrl F" and search the phrase "get a job". <<--That's the first time it has appeared on this page. It solves every (relevant) problem, and puts you where you need to be. You need sponsorship to stay in Hong Kong? Search for the jobs that say they provide it. It's not as special as it sounds, many companies will provide sponsorship.

Finding work may not be easy, but where in the world is it easy to find work? Even if you want to be picky about the jobs you apply for, it should be easy to send out 10 job applications a week. Who knows? You may end up earning enough to free your wife from servitude, and make a decent life here for both of you.


Good luck.

We agree with Brocko. That is the best way.

We agree with Brocko. That is the best way.

Athalonia, there are many in HK who have it much worse than your wife.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/hongkong/8818102/Hong-Kong-under-pressure-as-poverty-levels-rise.html

It seems both the HK and US governments are unwilling to let either of you to sponsor a spouse because of your low paid employment. You cannot condemn one system without condemning the other.


If you feel the system is unfair, at least in the USA you can write or phone your lawmaker, a right we do not have in Hong Kong. Congressmen can intervene when there is some injustice.



I understand it must be heartbreaking to be apart, but accept the situation, and the answer is to find a better job and earn more money, so that you qualify.


Being able to live and work in the USA you are relatively lucky. Many Asians, Africans, Latinos, and others are dying to get to the USA because it's considered the land of opportunity.


Good Luck.

she CAN'T bring you in HK to live here. MAINLY because she doesn't have the ROA or Permanent Resident Status. Her visa is DOMESTIC HELPER's visa. which is TOTALLY DIFFERENT from those who can sponsor the spouse or kids.


In HK, in order for people to bring their loved ones to live and be with them, they should have ENOUGH INCOME to provide their need, STABLE JOB wherein the salary is atleast HK$20,000. why? because the officers need to compute all the expenses like house renty, bills, foods for the whole family, etc. house rental will be HK$7,000 up. with her salary of less than HK$4,000 it's very obvious that housing can't be provided. and of course, you cannot live with her employers. also, you cannot just show that you have enough money to provide the need while you are applying for a job. because they will not care how you are. everything they will based on your wife.


as of now, best way to do is work hard to earn enough and so you can bring her to USA. after all, I guess, it's better tere than here. but then for now, the only choice you two can have is to see each other with you visiting here for a couple of weeks to a month or how long they will allow you to stay. and just talk to each other every day as a ashow of love, support and care.