Quality Migrant or Residence as Dependant

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Feb 2011
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    Quality Migrant or Residence as Dependant

    Hi Everyone,

    Situ
    I have recently started working in HK. We would like for my wife to have the ability to come to HK and to look for work.

    Cred’s
    I am an Australian citizen and HK Permanent Resident with HKID and qualitfy for a HKSAR Passport. Wife is PRC Citizen who has held Australian PR for the last 13 months. She currently resides in Australia. She also possess enough “points” to apply for the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme.

    All things remaining constant Q
    Which visa would be better for her to apply for? As a Dependent or Quality Migrant?
    If dependent, do we complete the forms, which seem to be for everyone except Mainland Chinese?
    What happens to her Australian PR? Is there a way she can keep this status?

    Big Q
    For us, what are the advantage in PRC citzenship? Visa’s for holiday travel are such an amazing hassle. Wouldn’t the HKSAR give her all those things???


    Last edited by tor; 07-02-2011 at 10:52 PM.

  2. #2

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    You need to figure out where you want to live. If you want to live in HK, then your wife can easily get a dependent visa, which nowadays gives her total freedom to work anywhere or even start her own business. Of course she can apply for the QMAS but be warned it's a very long process, it might take upwards of 10 months if you need to supply additional information.

    She will lose her Australian residency status if you choose this route but she can always get it back easily if she moves back to Australia (as the spouse of an Australian citizen, this is straightforward). I guess this is not ideal from your point of view - it would be nice to have the Aussie passport for travel - but the system isn't designed for peoples convenience.


  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by pinkinhk:
    She will lose her Australian residency status if you choose this route but she can always get it back easily if she moves back to Australia (as the spouse of an Australian citizen, this is straightforward.
    Are you sure about this? Australian PR means PERMANENT Resident. ie You cannot lose it, ever. For example, even if she divorces him she can still live in Aus for the rest of her life.

    It usually takes a few years to get a PR. Ie you get a temporary visa first. Then after 2 years, if you are still married, it becomes permanent.

    I dont think living in HK will affect her Australian PR status.

    Regarding whether to get a dependent or QMAS, obviously the dependent is much easier and very straightforward. But being a Chinese citizen does complicate things a bit. I think PDLM should be along soon to answer this for you.

    Where is PDLM anyway? We have a visa question that he hasnt answered for more than 12 hours now. Im getting worried. Should we send out a search party?
    Last edited by bdw; 08-02-2011 at 01:24 PM.

  4. #4

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    I assumed the poster meant to say, "my wife has had 13 months of legal residence" or else why would you bother to point out the figure? If she's a permanent resident, she's a permanent resident.


  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by pinkinhk:
    I assumed the poster meant to say, "my wife has had 13 months of legal residence" or else why would you bother to point out the figure? If she's a permanent resident, she's a permanent resident.
    Yes that was a bit cryptic. Holding PR for so long enables her to now take the next step and apply for full Australian citizenship. However, she would need to give up her Chinese citizenship. I just wanted to point out (not so obviously) that we are also faced with this question/choice...

    Since we are going to be together, we think this unnecessary as she can always apply for Australian PR through me. But then I started thinking... what if we live in HK long enough for her to apply for HKSAR passport? Does the HKSAR allow you to live and work on the mainland? If she did give up her Chinese citizenship, we would miss out on govt supplied "well priced" housing...

  6. #6

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    Hmm - if you are used to Australian accommodation you might find Government housing a little small and crowded...! It all comes down to where you want to live long term - an Aussie passport is MUCH easier to get visas on than a Chinese (or even HKSAR) one. But if you want to live in China or HK, chinese might be better.


  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by tor:
    Yes that was a bit cryptic. Holding PR for so long enables her to now take the next step and apply for full Australian citizenship. .
    I believe that it is 2 years before you can apply for Aus citizenship, so not an option here

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by pudcat:
    I believe that it is 2 years before you can apply for Aus citizenship, so not an option here
    When I got mine it was 1 year out of 2 and 2 years out of 5 (had to have both of these - they deduct any days you are out of the country).

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by bdw:
    Are you sure about this? Australian PR means PERMANENT Resident. ie You cannot lose it, ever. For example, even if she divorces him she can still live in Aus for the rest of her life.

    It usually takes a few years to get a PR. Ie you get a temporary visa first. Then after 2 years, if you are still married, it becomes permanent.

    I dont think living in HK will affect her Australian PR status.
    Something is not quite right there. AFAIK, for permanent Australian resident visa, once it is granted, it will have a life span for 5 years. After the first five years, you will have to renew it and then be granted a Resident Return Visa (RRV) for another five years. You will keep renewing the RRV every five years in order to maintain your permanent residency status. You must have lived two qualifying ears in Australia out of the five years of your PR visa/ RRV visa in order to qualify for the next and subsequent RRV renewal. I guess one will need to read the fine prints of two qualifying years and I am sure there is a min. continuous period of residency.

    In the past there is something called indefinite RRV, which means your RRV will follow you for life, but such thing is now gone! (NZ still has it). They remove this in order to stop the rich migrants treating Australia as a "hotel" or "holiday resort".

    In order to break the vicious cycle of renewing the RRV, one can become an Australian citizen immediately after four years of legal residence in Australia (this incl. those on permanent or temporary visas) and of which one year out of the four years must be on permanent resident visa.

    I am not sure what the arrangment are for spouses of an Australian citizen, but one will loose the Australian permanent residency if they do not live in Australia long enough.
    Last edited by star-anise; 09-02-2011 at 10:55 AM.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by tor:
    Yes that was a bit cryptic. Holding PR for so long enables her to now take the next step and apply for full Australian citizenship. However, she would need to give up her Chinese citizenship. I just wanted to point out (not so obviously) that we are also faced with this question/choice...

    Since we are going to be together, we think this unnecessary as she can always apply for Australian PR through me. But then I started thinking... what if we live in HK long enough for her to apply for HKSAR passport? Does the HKSAR allow you to live and work on the mainland? If she did give up her Chinese citizenship, we would miss out on govt supplied "well priced" housing...
    Just bear in mind though, tor. The HKSAR passport will fall under Chinese citizenship law, where they won't allow you to hold dual citizenship.

    I don't know but I don't think you need to renounce one's Chinese citizenship in order to become an Australian citizen and they won't notify China on your behalf.......(unlike Canada) Plus, Australia recognises dual citizenship anyway!
    Last edited by star-anise; 09-02-2011 at 11:07 AM.