Dependent visa application

[Iramanis]

I would be grateful for some advice. My husband holds a 3-star HKID but is also British. We live in the UK with our 4 year old daughter and have a baby on the way. We are planning on moving in Jul 09 so our daughter can start a fresh school year in Aug 09. When is the best time to put in an application for us? Will we need to put in just 1 application for me and the children or do we need to put in 3? We have separate passports.

Timing is really crucial to us because we will need to sell our house, our car, resign from jobs etc over here. How long does an average overseas application take? I understand that we need to travel into HK within 3 months to activate the visa (if we are granted one) but can we travel back to the UK again for a few months after activating the visa so we can wrap up things in the UK properly? If we plan on a Jul departure from the UK, would a May application be ok?

We will need to bring our daughter back to HK for a school interview in Jan 09. Is this a good time to approach the immigration and to get things sorted while we are there or is it too early?

Also, I read that some people have to have interviews for a dependents visa. Does it mean that we will have to travel to HK again for this or is it different for overseas applications? Is there a renewal of the visa every couple of years? Does it mean that I will not have a HKID while I am on a dependents visa or just a 1-star one? Will I be able to get a job on this kind of visa?

In the Sponsor section, obviously my husband will be our sponsor but as he does not yet have a job in HK will this affect our application?

Sorry for all these questions but it's best to find out beforehand what's required. Many thanks in advance.

[carang]

don't think there is any one star hkid.

every person residing in hk for more than 3 months MUST apply for a hkid.

you will have a dependent visa on your husband. you will have no restrictions and will be able to work and travel freely, once your visa has been "activated". i believe that you will need to renew your visa until you have lived here for 7 continuous years, at which time you can apply for HK PR (permanent residence & right of abode). once this is granted, you can leave hk for up to 3 years while maintaining your ROA, however, if you leave for longer than 3 years, your status will be downgraded to RTL (right to land). this has basically all the same perks as ROA, but i believe you cannot vote (possibly you might also be able to be deported, but if i'm wrong, someone here will correct me).

i would probably make a trip to immigration while you are here in January to start the ball rolling. they can at least provide you with all of the relevant forms/answers. and they might be able to give you more of a timeline. for work visas, they say 4-6 weeks, but in my experience, it has always been a lot longer than that. i know people that do it through large companies often get their visas approved faster as the companies know all the hoops to jump through.

you will need to submit 3 separate applications with your husband as the sponsor for each of you.

good luck. it should be fairly straightforward and simple, not too nerve-wracking!