Hong Kong work visa and dependent visa questions

[mrwillis]

Hi everyone, so a company wants to sponsor me for a HK work visa. I have a wife and two kids. Here are my questions:

1) is it quicker to get approved for a work visa if I the work visa application just has me as the sole applicant (so exclude my wife and two kids as accompanying dependants for now, then get approved for the work visa, then once I land in HK and get everything setup and settled in, then sponsor my wife and two kids while I am in HK a couple of months after)? And if I sponsor my dependants after I land in HK myself, is that faster for them to get approved after (versus having all of us on the work visa application while awaiting approval outside of HK)?
2) assuming if I list both my wife and two kids as accompanying dependants on the initial work visa application; does this imply (assuming we get approved) that we all have to land in HK together (or, can I still go to HK first to get everything setup and settled, and then my wife and kids can come any time in the year to get their HKID)?

Thanks everyone!

[hullexile]

?

The answer to your question depends on where you are from and what your job will be because the speed of approval varies.

You know when you are driving down the road and everyone else is going the other way? You need to be sure you know what is up ahead. As long as you are sure of that then come and enjoy.

[shri]

In general if your salary is in line with what you would need to support the dependants, your employer has brought in other expats and has supported your application with appropriate documentation - it is better to get the dependant visas along with your application.

It is a lot easier to get everything approved in one shot than to do it all over again for your dependants.

Yes you can all arrive together if you wish, once your applications are approved.

[hullexile]

In general if your salary is in line with what you would need to support the dependants, your employer has brought in other expats and has supported your application with appropriate documentation - it is better to get the dependant visas along with your application.

It is a lot easier to get everything approved in one shot than to do it all over again for your dependants.

Yes you can all arrive together if you wish, once your applications are approved.

I think he was more interested in coming in at different times, to which the answer is also that is fine.

[freeier]

Everyone just need to arrive in hk (together or separately) within 3 or 6 months after issuance of the Visa. Originally the allowance was 3mths, not sure if they are extending it to 6mths now with the covid situation as there are some 'visa limits' that have been given as six months these days...

[mrwillis]

Thanks all for the clarification! This is helpful!

[mrwillis]

We would be coming from Canada; job will be in the tech industry.

[bdw]

With a wife and two kids, thats 4 applications. Your employment application is sponsored by company, 3 dependent applications are sponsored by you. You can fill out all the paperwork for all 4 at the same time and submit together, will be processed together, is usually the quickest way. But you can also do the other 3 later if you want, would be slower overall, but as freeier says once the visas are approved you have 3 or 6 months to use them, need to arrive in HK within that time, so dont apply for your wife and kids too early if they are not going to use it, or will have to go to hassle of applying again or getting some kind of extension.

[hullexile]

We would be coming from Canada; job will be in the tech industry.

Should be straightforward then. Enjoy the adventure

[mrwillis]

Original Post Deleted

Yea, I saw your deleted comment. Just wanted to say my wife used to work in HK, we have lived in mainland China and HK previously, and have friends/family still in HK (and friends who have moved out of HK) so we hear from all sides what's going on. In addition, now we have kids to bring over