Old age allowance - social welfare rule and eligibility

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  1. #1

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    Old age allowance - social welfare rule and eligibility

    Have read the website and spoken to them but still not confident that I have a conclusive answer so hoping someone on here can confirm based on their own experience...

    The rule is that the applicant must be resident in HK for one year immediately prior to the application - Absences totalling a maximum of 56 days would still allow someone to be categorised as having been resident for that period.

    So the question is...
    If a person is absent for 86 days for example, does that mean they simply lose 1 month worth of benefit or does it mean they lose the entire year of benefit as the whole process of one year residency has to start afresh?

    They have verbally communicated both positions so I’m utterly confused now...

    Thanks anyone!


  2. #2

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    Bumping this ...still hope someone might have a conclusive answer


  3. #3

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    I would be interested to hear about this as well; as well as how you prove / they track absences / day count in the HKSAR. Is it from retrieving your own entry-exit Immigration records, or do they do this automatically? Thanks


  4. #4

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    @dossier - there are some guidance notes on page 11.

    https://www.swd.gov.hk/storage/asset...18.pdf?noembed


  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    @dossier - there are some guidance notes on page 11.

    https://www.swd.gov.hk/storage/asset...18.pdf?noembed
    Thanks. How are you supposed to prove "he/she must have been a Hong Kong resident for at least seven years;"?

    Also, once you receive the OAA, how do you validate / get checked on your day count in Hong Kong for each year thereafter? It seems you need a minimum of 60 days each year. Do they actually check / care?
    Last edited by dossier; 28-05-2018 at 11:31 AM.

  6. #6

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    Maybe someone who is getting OAA can answer this: once you start getting OAA: do you need to re-validate each year / see the SWD in person / do anything? Or do they just keep paying you automatically into your HK bank account?

    I'm curious about how the 60 day requirement (relaxed previously from 90 days) is enforced; or whether actually it isn't really?


  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by KEM.UK:
    Have read the website and spoken to them but still not confident that I have a conclusive answer so hoping someone on here can confirm based on their own experience...

    The rule is that the applicant must be resident in HK for one year immediately prior to the application - Absences totalling a maximum of 56 days would still allow someone to be categorised as having been resident for that period.

    So the question is...
    If a person is absent for 86 days for example, does that mean they simply lose 1 month worth of benefit or does it mean they lose the entire year of benefit as the whole process of one year residency has to start afresh?

    They have verbally communicated both positions so I’m utterly confused now...

    Thanks anyone!
    From my reading of the rules, it seems that you need to be continuously resident in HK for 1 year before applying, although absences for paid work abroad or medical treatment appear to be valid exemptions. So if you are working abroad or receiving medical treatment, and therefore not in HK for 1 year before applying, you should still qualify.

    The document seems to indicate that OAA is "all or nothing" - you either get OAA or you do not - rather than there being a sliding scale.