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Working In HK - Help!

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  1. #1

    Working In HK - Help!

    Hi folks,

    My ex-wife literally ran off to Hong Kong with our two children (7 and 4) youngest born in UK, eldest born in HK, ex-wife is a HK resident.
    She originally spun a lie she would be in HK for three months part of her work contract and two years later, still no idea of her return.

    I do want to relocate to be with the children as requesting her to return with the children seems like a stupid laughable fathers request.

    I recently returned from HK I had work offers from English learning centres also had a work sponsor but my work visa was rejected mainly because I had no "degree"!

    Any idea how I could relocate to HK?! (ps to old for a working holiday visa and too broke for a student visa).

    thanks for reading.


  2. #2

    Join Date
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    Marry a HKPR and apply for a dependent visa, or you receive a 6 month tourist visa with a UK passport I believe, so just come and stay here and do visa runs when needed. Don't overstay your tourist visa.

    Since your name has a rejection attached to it, it would be difficult to get an employment visa in the future.


  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by MandM!:
    Marry a HKPR and apply for a dependent visa, or you receive a 6 month tourist visa with a UK passport I believe, so just come and stay here and do visa runs when needed. Don't overstay your tourist visa.

    Since your name has a rejection attached to it, it would be difficult to get an employment visa in the future.
    How would he survive financially?

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    How would he survive financially?
    If there is a will, there is a way.

  5. #5

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    If you were in HK would you be allowed to see your kids?

    shri likes this.

  6. #6

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    You could check with a few tutorial schools in Hong Kong to see if they would hire someone without a degree but who holds a CELTA or TESOL certificate, and whether they would be willing to sponsor a work visa. The latter is probably the most problematic part.

    You could inquire about doing a CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). They may accept people without university degrees. For details, please see https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/tea...cations/celta/

    You could also inquire about a TEFL Certification, Teach English as a Foreign Language in a foreign country (non-native English speaking country). Please visit https://www.internationalteflacademy...-certification

    I know a native speaker of English (on a working holiday visa) who did not finish her university degree but did a CELTA and got a job in a tutorial school here a few weeks ago.

    Good luck.

    shri likes this.

  7. #7

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    Are you legally divorced? Are you kids permenant residents? A spouse can sponsor a partners dependent visa; a child with a PR can too (although I suspect not an underage one). Both of these only work if you have a good enough relationship with you wife to make them work. But if you don't, so you really think she will let you see the kids anyway?

    Another pragmatic option is to move somewhere close that has more flexible visa rules. You say you are too old for a working holiday visa - how old are you? Thailand has "retirement" visas; Philipines seems reasonably relaxed about letting people in. Both are a cheap 2 hour flight away. You may want to look at employment options in these places depending on your actual skillset, age etc. They are both MUCH MUCH cheaper places to live than HK.


  8. #8

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    I think the suggestion of getting TEFL certification is a good one, it doesn't take long and would vastly improve your chances of working in this part of the world. You could also look into getting work in Shenzhen and Macau which are closer though more expensive than the Phil and Thailand. Taiwan and Vietnam could be other options that are close to HK. Any of those could be stepping stone to get experience and then a job here but all of them would be much easier with certification.

    The Celt likes this.

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Golem:
    You could also look into getting work in Shenzhen and Macau.
    No way to get a Chinese working visa without BA even with Celta/Tefl and etc.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by resurection:
    No way to get a Chinese working visa without BA even with Celta/Tefl and etc.
    If you know the market, you should also know the reality. It's true that in order to have a Z visa and legally teach, you need a degree. The reality however is that there is such a demand that teachers are hired on M or F visas though it is not technically legal to teach on those and it exposes people to potential problems.

    The other potential option that many seem to be doing is to teach through online portals. It would be hard to sustain yourself on that living in HK but it could fill gaps while you find something more permanent.

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