visa status after divorce due to domestic violence

[heather11]

our ex-helper wants a divorce after being beaten up by her husband multiple times in the last several months. but she is worried about losing her dependent visa. can she stay in Hong Kong legally after the divorce? husband is permanent resident and they have been married for 2 years. they have a daughter who was born in Hong Kong.

[carang]

sadly, i believe she will lose the dependent visa. is there anyway she could get a work visa? the other thing she would have to consider is the status of the child. if the child is born in hk and one parent is ethnically chinese, then the child will have ROA here. and the father may not let the mother remove the child from hk.

i would strongly suggest that your ex-helper contact the counselling at st. john's cathedral. they might be able to help her with the abuse, and guide her on how she can safely extricate herself and her child from the dangerous situation. i believe they base their fees upon the financial standing of the person seeking counselling (but could be wrong on that).

[Gruntfuttock]

I believe not, unless some exception is made by ImmD. Not sure how likely that would be. I suggest she talks to a lawyer. Or ever to Helpers for Domestic Helpers at St John's cathedral (even though she isn't one now). They have access to pro bono legal advice.

[dumbdonkey]

what is the nationality of the helper?

[Gruntfuttock]

what is the nationality of the helper?

how could that possibly be relevant?

[heather11]

she ran away with the 2 year old daughter over the weekend when she was beaten again. she is now in a shelter. both she and husband are from the Philippines. she worked as waitress in restaurants after she got married. I worry that she might convince herself to go back to her husband because of the visa.

[MovingIn07]

I think her visa is valid until it expires, for a start (so possibly for the dependent of a PR, might be a 3 year visa). That gives her some time. Secondly, divorce in Philippines takes FOREVER. She might get to be PR before it even comes through.

But - why not just separate but not divorce?

(Please note, Grunt and Cara are probably much better qualified to answer this question than me. So they can confirm or not the point about the visa still working until it actually expires).

[dumbdonkey]

how could that possibly be relevant?

the helper can apply for domestic helper visa. no?

[Gruntfuttock]

I think her visa is valid until it expires, for a start (so possibly for the dependent of a PR, might be a 3 year visa). That gives her some time. Secondly, divorce in Philippines takes FOREVER. She might get to be PR before it even comes through.

But - why not just separate but not divorce?

(Please note, Grunt and Cara are probably much better qualified to answer this question than me. So they can confirm or not the point about the visa still working until it actually expires).

Why would she get divorced in the philppines? She and her husband are resident here. I'm not sure whether her visa is valid after divorce, but I suspect not. Hence my advice to consult a lawyer.

[vmlinuz]

the helper can apply for domestic helper visa. no?

Ex-helper, who has been waitressing since getting married...