Work in Shenzhen, Live in Hong Kong

[scholi]

I am about to accept an assignment for an international company. The entity is entirely in Shenzhen (no legal links to HK), hence my work permit will be issued there. However, I chose to stay in Hong Kong for various reasons.
Does anyone have experience with such situation, and is it possible to attain HK residency with such status?

[carang]

no you can't attain any type of residency because you will be here on a tourist visa. the other thing you should be ware of is that you may eventually be refused entry into hk. although if you can prove you are working in shenzhen, then you may be able to get around that.

you need to be RESIDENT in hk in order for it to count towards permanent residence down the road. ALSO, you will NOT be eligible for healthcare coverage, so PLEASE get yourself some VERY GOOD health insurance.

(if i'm wrong on any of these points, i'm sure someone will correct me, but that is my understanding).

[KnowItAll]

You'll run into a lot of long term barriers here in HK.

1) Without residency and visas, your commute into China and back will be through the tourist lines in immigration.

2) Apartment rentals -- you'll find a fair amount of landlords hesitating to rent to you if you do not have some form of HK ID / Visa.

3) Banking and other day to day dealing with utilities (phone, electricity etc) will also be a bit of a pain.

Some of these problems can circumvented by going to a serviced apart, but you'll find life just a little bit difficult in HK without a resident's visa.

[carang]

not to mention how fast you'll go through your passport getting stamped each and every day.

[Sleuth]

I live in HK and work in SZ, bt we have companies in both cities.
In addition to all of the above, the commute time/distance into SZ is long, unless you live right up by the border and then you might as well live in SZ.

[HKChigger]

Much cheaper living in Shenzhen and lots less trouble.

Hong Kong is better for visits if you are working in Shenzhen.

[wtbhotia]

you'll be getting 4 chops everyday plus you'll need to fill out 4 forms as well. not worth it mate. i live in hk but work in shenzhen, luckily i m a hk resident so on hk side dont need chops but going to china 5 days a week is a killer n my passport is filling up very fast. stick to shenzhen (shek o) area is full of expats and its much safer over their, apartments are more expensive but security is much better.

[Sleuth]

you'll be getting 4 chops everyday plus you'll need to fill out 4 forms as well. not worth it mate. i live in hk but work in shenzhen, luckily i m a hk resident so on hk side dont need chops but going to china 5 days a week is a killer n my passport is filling up very fast. stick to shenzhen (shek o) area is full of expats and its much safer over their, apartments are more expensive but security is much better.

This would be why I don't live in SZ. Things like "much safer over there", "security is better"; my summation of all the threads I have read about living in SZ is:
okay place to live if you are a single male.
Rather have my passport fill up. The US Consulate here is quite good about adding pages.
I know, I am off the beaten track again.

[HKChigger]

You do know wtbhotia's post was refering to Sheko being safer than the rest of Shenzhen right? Nobody has said it is safe. It is more dangerous nobody will deny that. But, it still isn't any worse than a lot of other major cities. If you keep things locked up well, don't travel in shady transport services and walk down dark alleys, chances are nothing is going to happen except maybe pickpocketing. Which once again is something you can avoid with care.

As long as you take all normal precautions I wouldn't say it is any worse than any other major city like New York, New Delhi, Manila etc.

[Sleuth]

I have the impression that HK is safer than SZ. And that the police force in HK (as well as NYC) is slightly more professional than in PRC.
Also, SZ is a big place. The commute from Sheko could be as long as a commute from HK (although not the island).