Could someone PLEASE help me with some visa advice? I am a 29 year old Australian wanting to move to HK to join my boyfriend who is likely to be working there for ten years or more. We are not married and didn't live together prior to him moving there. I don't have a degree so I can't get a normal working visa, I've recently found out even a TEFL qualification to teach English won't help me.
I have tried contacting the immigration department and they have said they can't give me advice unless they have an actual application to go on, but there's clearly no point lodging an application!
A working holiday visa means I can only work in a job for three months - but I doubt I could get a job anyway, would a TEFL certificate help in this instance?
Study visa means I have to pay for my studies upfront and would not be allowed to work whatsoever - not really an option.
I have found out I could study online through OpenUni Australia and receive study benefits from the Australian government, but would HK Immigration then recognise I have lived with my boyfriend legally? I worry that if I do something like that when we eventually get married they will not regard me as a dependant because I would have only been in HK on renewed tourist visas for a prolonged amount of time.
I am really upset and worried that I'm running out of options, does anyone know anything about the immigration rules or has dealt with the same problem?
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My understanding is you need to be married to be able to apply for a dependent's visa -- and again that's not certain. Things are more conservative here. Cohabitation counts for nothing as far as I am aware. It's not really open for negotiation. Sorry. You can double-check at http://www.immd.gov.hk amd email them.
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Thanks, I realise we would have to be married and with the cohabitation rule my concern is that when we do actually get married, is it acceptable that I would have only been living with him whilst on a tourist visa (which would mean going in and out of HK quite a few times). I'm just not sure how legal this option is to be 'proof' of cohabitation. Are they likely to reject my application saying we can't have lived together if technically I'd never had proper right to live and work in HK?
I hope that makes sense, thank you for your response.
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If you're married, you're married. Not sure what you mean by cohabition rule. Not sure if this exists in HK. Contact immigration. You can't get a Hong Kong visa by living together with your boyfriend for a long period. Counts for nothing here. They want to see a) your marriage certificate and b) whether your husband earns enough to support you.
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Oh isn't there? I read somewhere you had to prove you have lived together for a minimum of six months.
Well, while that's the first bit of good news I've had, we are not married and so I guess the bottom line is I can't work in HK until then.
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http://www.immd.gov.hk/en/services/hk-visas/dependents/guidebook.html
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There's no reason why you can't legally work in Hong Kong without a dependent visa or a university degree. Granted, a degree will help your case, but I've known expats that don't have degrees who've applied and been granted employment visas here. It really depends on the job you're applying for and how you and your employer go about it.
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Really??? A degree is the one thing I've been told they will not compromise on, unless you've been a working professional in your field for more than ten years so have acquired relevant skills and experience.... Which is not me, being as I was going to teach English with a fresh TEFL qualification. Was it a long time ago these people you know were granted visas?
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It was quite recently they were granted visas. However, they did have good relevant work experience so you're right in that regard. I just assumed you had work experience to back you up. So yeah, if you don't have a degree or decent work experience (doesn't really have to be 10 years+), then it's going to be an uphill battle for sure. Just think positively :)
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Have you ever tried contacting British Council in Hong Kong? It might be a option for you.
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one does not need a dependent visa, degree or relevant work experience per se to work in HK
in your case what is needed is the following:
- an offer of employment
- an employer willing to apply for/or support an application for a work visa on your behalf
Now, that's perhaps the easy bit
HK Immigration, when evaluating such applications will decide whether to grant you a work visa based on any or all of the following:
- what do you bring to the job that a local applicant cannot bring
- are your skill set/knowledge/experinece etc. easily available in HK
- will you be displacing a local applicant for the job
- will the remuneration offered by the employer be sufficient to sustain you
in other words, like the immigration departments of most other countries, the real question is Why You?
Hence, applying for a dependent visa (applicable to married couples where the main breadwinner already has a work visa) is a quick and simple way to circumvent these typical requirements and favoured by spouses
that's all there is to it!
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Thanks for the details. The problem is I don't have any skills or experience relevant to work in HK - I was planning to get a qualification to teach English but even TEFL told me I wouldn't get a visa/offer of employment.
Bossanova, what can the British council do?
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well, for a start you have one important trait going for you, you're honest
that's a good trait that some employers look for, honesty, and integrity are both in short supply in today's world, so............
if you can fake these you've got it made
convince an employer why you'd be good for him and let him do the persuading with HK IMM
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unfortunately there are no "honesty certificates" and Immd doesnt recognize them to give visa
best is to get married, anyway as you said you dont have skills or experience to work in HK, so you will need someone to support you.
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I wouldn't recommend MellyRose85 to "get married" just to get a dependent visa. This is HK, not the USA.
She should try to actually apply for a job first, get an offer, and then go thru the visa hurdle. Simply being a native English speaker within itself is a highly desired skill in some positions (and I don't mean just teaching English).
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Ciaomein. Immigration would strongly prefer fully qualified English teachers. I think marriage is the only workable option.
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the easiest and fastest solution for you is to marry him. you would also kill 2 birds with 1 stone, maybe he can't marry you because he is already married by then your problem would be solved, you won't come to HKG.
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I appreciate everyone's advice but marriage really isn't an option. Majority of our relationship has been long distance and we would now like the chance to have a normal relationship and live together first, not get married yet. Hence why I'm so frustrated by the visa issue, but from what you've all said, there's just no way I can get a visa to work.
Thanks anyway everyone.
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Hey, I'm kind of stuck in a position nearly similar to MellyRose, but I have experience, TEFL, degree, etc.
I am having trouble finding workbecause jobs I apply for tell me it's near impossible to get the work visa. I was in Discovery Bay and walked into a bar to talk to the expat owner. In the window was a sign saying they need bartenders, wait staff, dishwashers, and cooks. I asked for a job. He told me straight that unless I have a HK ID forget it. He said he's tried work visas once before, and immigration just pushes all applications off their desk into the trash. Is this true?
That's not to say I haven't tried elsewhere. I've seen a girl's fashion shop in Tsim Sha Tsui with a big sign in the display window that they were needing sales associates (rather shopgirls/guys).
I have visited an education center. They told me they outsource teachers to schools around HK, but sadly he cannot give me a job because the school season has already begun. He said they could sponsor a visa, but what good isvisasponsorship? If police find me working somewhere having no visa is the same as having visa with a school while working at a financial bank. Am I correct to assume that HK is similar to S Korea in that you must work at the company that issued your visa?
Anyone have advice? I have traveled to Macau for a week to try job search there, but it's the same as HK.I find it amazing because many new casinos/hotels are builtcreating jobs in the service industry, but I've heard graduates think the service industry below them. I've tried applying at a few hotels, buta month after I left Macau and still waiting for a response to my applications.
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employers wont be sponsoring(and immigration approving) you unless you have some skills which cant be found locally, and you have been looking at the wrong places to begin with.
if you are a native english speaker then your easiest route should to find a job for an English teacher to get a work Visa, or simply get married to your partner and get a dependent visa.
tying a knot cant be that difficult...
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Merlin2010,
Sorry but Scorpio01 has summarised it pretty well - the Hong Kong approach is in line with almost all other countries ie why do they need you?
I was told many years ago there was a general unwritten 'rule' whereby any employment visa application which stated a salary below a certain cut-off level was rejected; the theory being a local could be found to take a job at that level (the foreigner was not in enough demand/had a skill set in demand that enabled them to elicit a higher salary). Not sure if this was or still is true but it kinda makes sense.
And yes you must work for the employer stated on the visa, even part-time work for others is not allowed. And should you leave the employer you need to find another visa sponsor although on a positive a track record in HK helps.
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Arkay
10 yrs ago
Getting a visa is not a very good reason to get married. If you plan to marry your boyfriend anyway, then it would solve your problem, as a genuine marriage (with marriage certificate) will qualify you for the dependent's visa. That is your easiest solution.
The employment visa has certain advantages, but is harder to get. All we know about you is that you don't have a University degree (which is not an absolute requirement, but it would help) and you have (or will get) a TEFL/TESL qualification. Is there anything else in your life experience or work history that makes you "different" from other people? It could be a prior job, or even a hobby interest, if you can somehow prove it. If an employer can show that only YOU will fit their needs, because of some aspect(scr) of your background, your application stands a chance of approval. The more credible your claim appears, the greater the chance.
You should also be aware that there are unwritten and un-announced (and never openly admitted to) changes from time to time at immigration. The laws and rules don't change, but the degree of flexibility in their application will vary over time. Word will come down from on high to "go easy" for a while, or to "go hard" on applicants. It appears from what you say that it is now a "hard' time period. Not surprising, given the actual state of the local and world economies.un
I'd suggest you put on your thinking cap and analyze your own background. Look for ways that you may be unique or different from most local people here, arguments that you (and your new employer here) can make to immigration. Write them out as well as you can, in succinct fashion and in clear English. Be prepared to defend the arguments in an interview (and make sure your new employer is prepared, too).
When I got my status changed here (years ago), it took months of back-and-forth with the Immigration authorities, until my file was more than 2" thick. They would say "NO!" and I would go off and do more research and amend or make a new application. i simply refused to acknowledge the "No" and kept trying. I got creative, and got the support of a local celebrity who argued in my favor. I read the statutes and found arguments that fit the wording of the immigration laws themselves. Finally I got the approval. They didn't make it easy; half of my interviews were in Cantonese! It can be difficult, but the key is to make it easy for the lower-level people to get their superiors to sign off on the application and say "YES", when the applications get kicked upstairs for final approval. Give the people at the desk talking to you "ammunition" they can use to argue your case upstairs. Then you'll be successful.
Of course, it is still much easier to go the marriage route!
Good luck.
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Perhaps consider applying for an intensive Chinese language course in HK, Mandarin would be easier and more useful. You would then be eligible for a 3 month study visa which would give you time to get to know HK and your boyfriend better. At the end of 3 months you may then have a skill that will be marketable in HK and worldwide? That would give you better chances of getting employment and a related visa, or you may consider marriage an option by then.
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