Visa for Civil Partner

[mrrfrost]

My partner and I are moving to HK soon for a couple of years as he has a job and I have been turned down for a visa as, although we are married (civil partners) in the UK, HK didn't recognise our relationship and rejected my application.

Will it be at all possible for me to get some kind of work in HK? I really didn't want to have to sit around for 2 years doing nothing (as tempting as it sounds)!

Thanks for any advice.

[DanielandHayley]

What do you do at the moment? Qualifications etc? It is possible to find work here, and you are able to enter as a tourist for 6 months at a time so you will have to time to do so, but depends on what you want to do...

[mrrfrost]

At the moment I am a librarian - mostly dealing with children and have worked in schools a lot as well as public libraries.

I'm not that fussed about continiung in this line of work - would happily do an office admin job for a few days a week!

As I will be there on a tourist visa - how easy is it to find a job and then apply for a working visa? Will compnaies interview me without a working visa?

And if I don't get a job is it possible to keep leaving HK and getting another 180 day tourist visa? Especially as we want to stay for 2-3 years.

Thanks for you help

[Claire ex-ax]

Here's a job for a librarian at an ESF school, but it is in Ma On Shan...
Primary School Librarian

Employers sponsor working visas and must show that the person has unique skills, not usually found in HK. A part-time job doesn't usually pay enough to support a person and the ImmD will likely refuse such visa applications. So while some employers will sponsor a visa, many will not - it's a bit of a hassle to apply.

[PDLM]

If you're you are of different sexes then you could just get married in HK (very easy to do, any time any where, 14 days notice and two witnesses). But I guess that the reasons why you haven't got married in the UK would still apply here.

As Civil Partners I guess you could get a Extended Visitor Visa, which would remove the worry of not being allowed in repeatedly as a "tourist" but still wouldn't allow you to work.

You could also apply under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme whose criteria have recently become somewhat looser.
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - Immigration Department