Permanent residency for children of non-PR parents

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    51

    Permanent residency for children of non-PR parents

    My wife and I have been living in HK for 6.5 years, so we are now coming close to the point where we can apply for the permanent residency.

    We had our first baby a few months ago, got her a French passport (my wife and I are French) and a dependant visa. We are wondering if there is some way to apply for the permanent residency for our baby once we become permanent residents, or if we will have to wait until she has spent 7 years in Hong Kong herself to do so.

    I've contacted the immigration department about this but only received a cryptic email in reply, so I was hoping that some of the forum members could offer some advice on our situation. Thanks for your help!


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Yuen Long
    Posts
    1,563

    What was the response from Immigration? It may make sense to one of the members here.


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    51

    Basically they sent me a collection of excerpts from different documents. I'm not so good at legalese and was hoping more for a short and to the point answer from them. Here's the whole email they sent me, hopefully it makes sense to someone:

    According to paragraph 2(d) of Schedule 1 to the Immigration Ordinance, a person not of Chinese nationality who has entered Hong Kong with a valid travel document, has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than seven years and has taken Hong Kong as his place of permanent residence before or after the establishment of the HKSAR.
    • The continuous period of seven years ordinary residence must be immediately before the date when the person applies to the Director of Immigration for the status of a permanent resident of the HKSAR under this category.
    • The person is required to make a declaration in the form the Director of Immigration stipulates that he or she has taken Hong Kong as his or her place of permanent residence. If the person is under 21 years of age, the declaration must be made by a parent or legal guardian. For this purpose, the person will have to furnish information to satisfy the Director of Immigration that he or she has taken Hong Kong as a place of permanent residence. The information may include whether he or she has habitual residence in Hong Kong, whether the principal members of the person’s family (spouse and minor children) are in Hong Kong, whether the person has a reasonable means of income to support himself or herself and family and whether he or she has paid taxes in accordance with the law.
    • Please note that a person claiming to have the status of a permanent resident of the HKSAR under this category does not have that status until he or she has applied to the Director of Immigration and the application has been approved.

    According to paragraph 2(e) of Schedule 1 to the Immigration Ordinance, a person under 21 years of age born in Hong Kong to a parent who is a permanent resident of the HKSAR in category (d) before or after the establishment of the HKSAR if at the time of his or her birth or at any later time before he or she attains 21 years of age, one parent has the right of abode in Hong Kong.
    • Please note that on attaining the 21 years of age, the person ceases to be a permanent resident of the HKSAR under this category. He or she may, however, apply to the Director of Immigration for the status of a permanent resident of the HKSAR under category (d).

    For more details on the permanent residents and who can enjoy the right of abode in HKSAR, please visit the website: http://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immig.../roa/eligible/

    You may wish to note that there are certain circumstances under which a person not of Chinese nationality may lose his or her right of abode in the HKSAR, please browse: http://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immig...gible/loss.htm for details. For your easy reference, please note that:-

    Circumstances under which the person under category (e) aforesaid will lose the status of a permanent resident:-

    If you have been absent from Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than 36 months since you ceased to have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong; or
    On attaining the age of 21 years, you will cease to be a permanent resident of the HKSAR. You will then have to qualify on your own merits in accordance with the requirements stipulated in category (d) above. If you meet all of the requirements, you can apply for permanent resident status.

    As mentioned above, a person who has been verified to have the right of abode in the HKSAR under category (e) aforesaid should cease to be a permanent resident of the HKSAR under this category if he or she has been absent from Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than 36 months since he or she ceased to have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong, or on attaining the 21 years of age.

    If the person can fulfill the requirements under category (e) aforesaid, he or she should apply for verification of eligibility for a permanent identity card (VEPIC) so that his or her status of permanent resident of the HKSAR under category (d) aforesaid can be established, if applicable. If the person's eligibility for Hong Kong permanent resident status under category (d) aforesaid is established, he or she can continue to enjoy the right of abode in the HKSAR.

    Please note that the person must be staying in Hong Kong legally when he or she makes this VEPIC application. For details of the VEPIC application including the application forms and photocopies of supporting documents to be provided, please browse: http://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immig...fyeligible.htm.

    On the other hand, please be informed that a person who ceases to have the status of a permanent resident of the HKSAR will automatically acquire the right to land in Hong Kong in accordance with the law. He will be able to enter Hong Kong freely to live, study or work without restriction. Again, a person may ascertain whether he has lost the status of a permanent resident of the HKSAR by applying for verification of eligibility for a permanent identity card (VEPIC) with the Right of Abode Section of the Immigration Department for assessment of whether he has lost the permanent resident status and has the right to land in the HKSAR please.

    Please note that after submission of the application for VEPIC, case will be assessed in details by the case officer of the Right of Abode Section with the documents provided. Further supporting documents may be required by the case officer upon assessment. If there is any special circumstance of his/her specific case, applicant may explain in writing with documentary proof (if any) along with the application for the consideration of the case officer. For each application for VEPIC, the case officer of the Right of Abode Section shall assess in accordance with the law and with consideration about the individual merits of each case after receipt of the application so as to ascertain whether applicant is eligible for Hong Kong permanent resident status please.


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    51

    Thank you very much, that was exactly the kind of straightforward answer I was hoping to get from the immigration department in the first place. I forgot to mention in my first post that my daughter was born in Hong Kong, so it looks like we'll all be applying for the permanent residency in a few months (and once more for her 7 years later).


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    51

    Excellent point, I hadn't thought of that!