why don't you call up the immigration department on 2824 6111. don't be lazy and passive about it.
this is an advice forum with a thousand different opinions - none of which could be correct. call the dept up and they will guide you...
why don't you call up the immigration department on 2824 6111. don't be lazy and passive about it.
this is an advice forum with a thousand different opinions - none of which could be correct. call the dept up and they will guide you...
Immigration wont give any definitive answers to question related to the seven year continous stay issue for PID, rather will ask you to apply for the verification of eligibility.
They say that this issue cant be answered simply over the phone or email as it takes time to look at ur history of stay and handle it as a case.
My collegues at my work place have obtained PID after having a break upto 5 months. I had a break of 2 weeks and still obtained my ID without a question...
Best thing is patiently wait for the seven years to roll over and try applying for the verification...
Travelling for work or holidays is fine. You are still LIVING here, just going on business trips or holidays. If, however, you leave a gap between visa's and leave the country, terminate the lease on your flat and then come back a month later, that is NOT continuous. It's common sense really.
this one interests me too----> basically the missus was brought over here on a work visa.. but then left that job an did some training for teachin kids.. she kept doin the macau run for a while after her initial work visa expired - she got offered a job in a kindergarden - but they were feeding her B/S about her application----> wantin her to trial out whilst they went thru the paper work on the quiet this didnt really feel comfortable so we got married like 5 years ago.. but she has been here for 7 years continuously.. but nippin to macau every few months... should she wait another 2 years for safety?
Yes, clearly. If you weren't holding a visa permitting you to reside in HK for all of the 7 years then you could not have met the criteria for PR. Occasional exceptions are made for gaps of a week or two because of visa renewal screwups, but not in cases such as you describe.
Yes, but there is no way to prove if you are leaving on holiday or traveling for work or if you just don't want to live in Hong Kong and would rather be back home. Someone on a dependents visa, who doesn't have to work, could leave Hong Kong for extended periods and call it whatever they want. Is it ok to go on a 3 month vacation? a 6 month one?
I don't think it is suffice to just a hold a visa for 7 years straight. I think you have to have the visa plus show you have resided in HK for that period.
What surprises me (well, not really) is that Hong Kong doesn't have a certain number of days you must reside in HK per year to qualify for a year of residency towards PR...ie. you must reside in HK for a minimum of 300 days that year to qualify (and that could easily be verified through stamping passports). A consistant and transparent policy for gaining PR.
There is obviously a large grey area in what is considered "residing in HK".
Take my family for example. The kids go to school here. The wife is here with the kids most of the time. I live in hong kong, pay income taxes in hong kong. I travel for work 3/4 days per week for about 40 weeks in a year. When I am not in hong kong, I am rarely in the same city for more than 2 days.
My place of residence is hong kong even though I am here for less than 180 days years. Immigration granted my wife and I pr after 7 years.