Marriage VISA and Foreign Qualifications

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    74

    Marriage VISA and Foreign Qualifications

    Hi all, moving to HK soon, hoping to get a job on my marriage VISA.

    All I've been instructed to do on entry is to acquire a HK ID.

    Do I need/should I do this before seeking employment? Is there anything else I should be looking to do before seeking/gaining employment, in a legal context that is for tax purposes etc?

    Also, on the topic of the qualifications I'm bringing to HK, I'm moving from the UK, so I bring with me GCSE's, A Levels and a Bachelor's Degree. How are these qualifications seen from a HK employers perspective?

    Whilst I have a degree in spirit, the actual certificate has never actually reached me, due to moving about after University. I'm sure I would be able to obtain a copy if need be. Would my claim of a UK Bachelors Degree be pointless without the certificate, or would HK employers never actually require this? I've never actually needed it in the UK! In the UK however, they work on a referencing basis, but of course, a HK employers ability of contacting UK based employment/education references is somewhat diminished. Is employment/education referencing a system that would be used by HK employers?

    Lastly, my chosen career path is the wonderfully broad field of IT. In the UK, a huge amount of job searching is done via work agencies (which are generally fruitless) or via job websites. How does HK differ in the job hunting process? Does anybody have any recommendations for seeking IT based employment in HK? Unfortunately I don't bring with me much in the way of specific experience, so I'm not expecting to be a hot commodity, nor walk straight into my job of choice.

    Thanks for any thoughts and advice


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,205

    There is no such thing as a "marriage visa".

    If what you mean is that you are married to either a HK Permanent Resident or someone holding an Employment. Investment or similar visa here then what you will need to apply for is a Dependant Visa.

    As with all long term (>180 day) visa holders you must apply for a HKID card with 14 days of your arrival. But it is the Visa which confers rights - the HKID just provides evidence of your residence status.

    With a Dependant Visa you may work or study freely without further paperwork. (With the exception being if you are Dependant on someone who has a Study Visa - in that case you may study yourself, but not work.)

    It's really quite likely that you would need to provide evidence of your qualifications - I recommend that you contact your university and get a copy of your certificate.

    As for IT jobs in particular, I'll leave that to the geeks to answer.


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    74

    Thanks, yes Dependant Visa is what I have, I'll get onto the University then


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    186

    Hi Carn,

    I agree with PDLM, I would advise getting a copy of your certificate. It probably somewhat depends on the company as to whether they would check it, but if you end up with a multi-national then they almost certainly will. I am in HK at the moment job-hunting, and I went for an interview with HR for a banking position recently, and my certificates were the first thing they asked for (even prior to making me an offer).

    Good luck!