idcard for spouse of a HK resident

[qazter]

Hi everybody,

I married my wife in April 2004 in Hong Kong. She was born in Hk (chinese/European descent)in 1978 and holds a HKSAR and a BNO. I hold a South African and a German passport. We traveled for a while but are planning to move back to HK in August this year.

These are my questions:

1) Which documents do I/ my wife have to provide in order to get me a HK id-card?

2) For how long will this ID card be valid for?

3) How long does the application process take?

4) Which rights do I gain through this Id-card?

I read so many things about one star, three stars, right to abode, right to re-enter, work permit, smart card Id but could not suss it out.

Thanks for your support.

JV

[PDLM]

First you get a Dependent Visa. Once you have that getting the HKID card needs simply the Visa. To get the Visa:

1) Marriage certificate. Reasonable proof that she can support you in Hong Kong.

2) The Visa will be valid for as long as you are married, although it will need to be renewed periodically (first time after 1 year I think - the renewal process is painless so long as your status is unchanged). Once you have resided in Hong Kong on this visa for a continuous period of 7 years you can get Permanent Right of Abode in your own right (at which point you get a new HKID stating this and then nothing changes unless you leave HK and don't visit it in a period of 3 years).

3) 4-6 weeks for the visa. 2 weeks for the HKID.

4) The right to work, study, do pretty much anything you want for so long as the visa remains valid.

One star, three star, right to re-enter are only only relevant to Chinese/HK citizens. You don't need a work permit because as a dependent visa holder on a citizen you have the right to work for anyone without further paperwork. All HKID cards issued now are "Smart ID cards" - it just means that there is a chip on it with various digital data embedded.