Great confusion regarding Dependent visa..how difficult is it... ..?

[Akki28]

Hi folks,

Am new to all this..But really felt nice to be among so many kind hearted people here..Looking forward for some sincere suggestions..Checked a few threads here..some are very old..Did nt get the informations which I was looking for..I am facing some confusion and dilemma regarding dependent visa application for my wife who is currently staying in my native country..I am new to Hnk..Wrking for a company on a short term contract till Feb 2010..Currently my work permit is only till Oct 2009 which will be extended by my company till feb,2010. Would appreciate if somebody could guide me in the below areas :

1.Understand that Immigration dept looks for the financial standing of the sponsor before granting any dependent visa to sponsor's family..Does anybody has an idea how much minimum bank balance a sponsor should have inorder to apply for dependent visa..? I am in a trainee position..I don't earn much here ..Only around 6000HKD/p.m in Honk kong..However I also earn salary from my company based in my home country which is HKD equivalent of around 6000 HKD per month......Accomodation in HNK is being provided by the firm but they have made it clear that I must be the sponsor for my wife..As it's my new job, I am afraid I don't have strong bank balance to prove it sufficient. Can somebody guide us how to go about this..

2. Apart from Financial standing is there anything lese immigration dept. looks for in a sponsor..?

3. If a company doesn't want to act as an sponsor for it's employee's family and an employee has to become a sponsorer like me..what are the other things which sponsor has to be careful about..? Are there any other cost which sponsor has to bear for the dependent ; apart from nominal visa processing charges..?

4. Enquired about some agents but feel they charge very high for a dependent visa..Is it really necessary to go through a such professional agent..?

I and My wife is going through a lot stress in these days.. We are newly married and did not think so much before taking up my current contract..We are planning to apply for a dependent visa in next month..genuinely need some guidance..Pls assist..

Thanks,

sunil

[hullexile]

The company can not act as her sponsor unless they are employing your wife. As the one with the employment visa then you are the one who must sponsor.

There is no set figure for how much you need but guesses have been around HK$ 30,000 I seem to remember. That is how much I showed them and they accepted it, but my salary is much higher than yours so the situation is not the same.

[PDLM]

Are you really on an Employment Visa? I would be very surprised with that salary. Are you sure it's not a Training Visa?

But in any case, the requirements are the same: from The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - Immigration Department

V. Entry of Dependants

9. Applicants admitted for training may bring in their spouse and unmarried dependent children under the age of 18 to the HKSAR under the prevailing dependant policy. Persons admitted or applying for admission for training will be the sponsors of his/her accompanying dependants to the HKSAR. An application for admission of a dependant may be favourably considered if:

1. there is reasonable proof of a genuine relationship between the dependant and the sponsor;
2. there is no known record to the detriment of the dependant; and
3. the sponsor is able to support the dependant's living at a standard well above the subsistence level and provide him/her with suitable accommodation in Hong Kong.
{...}
11. The length of stay of such dependants will be linked to that of their sponsors. Dependants are required to leave the HKSAR as and when the sponsors themselves leave Hong Kong. Dependants are not prohibited from taking up employment in the HKSAR under existing policy.

So given that your employer provides your accommodation (and that it is deemed suitable for a couple) then you simply need enough cash to support your wife. If you have HK$12,000 per month of free income plus accommodation then I guess that might be sufficient to persuade ImmD. It is certainly above subsistence level. You would however also need to prove the genuineness of your relationship. ImmD can be suspicious of new marriages, particularly involving certain nationalities. The onus is on you to prove your case - evidence of the longevity of the relationship and so on.

Note that once admitted your wife would be able to work, so in practice you should be fine financially (if she can speak English there are plenty of jobs around in the food and beverage industry for example, which might pay HK$6-7K/month, albeit with odd hours). But this is NOT taken into consideration by ImmD - you must be able to show that you can support her without relying on her getting a job.

[Akki28]

DERA PDLM,

Many thanks for replying..I saw many of your posts here..Just request a few quick clarifications :

1.U said my salary is just above the minimum level needed by a sponsor..What's the minimum level..? Is there anything in the Govt. policy here..?

2. Any idea ab the minimum bank balance of the sponsor which IMM DEPT looks for..as a precondition..?

3. Apart from the marraige certificate what other proof do they require for verifying the genuinity of a relationship..between a husband and a wife..? No clue in that..

4. Will it really help if I go through a professional agency..? How much generally thye charge?

5. If IMM dept rejects a dependent application..how difficult is here to re apply the same in future..? Is it very common here for IMM dept to reject a dependent visa application..??

Thanks a ton in advance.!

[Akki28]

Thanks..Atleast I have got a figure in mind for going ahead..!!

Rds

[kat28]

..........

[PDLM]

Qs 1 & 2: You need to show income rather than a bank balance I think; the key phrase is "the sponsor is able to support the dependant's living at a standard well above the subsistence level". Obviously, ImmD is alert to the possibility of you borrowing money for the duration of the application. But since your visa is linked to the specific job then there can be some certainty about your income. HK$12,000 is enough to support two people with free accommodation. HK$6,000 is very tight. If you have to pay for accommodation in your home country out of the salary you are paid there then it might be difficult to convince ImmD.

Q3. "reasonable proof" might include evidence that you have known each other for some time before your wedding (if you took holidays together then photos from those); pictures from your wedding showing the involvement of both your families; any correspondence between you (harder in these days of SMS/Skype/IM than it was in the days of letters); and so on. Remember that what that are looking for is evidence that this isn't a "marriage of convenience" to get your wife into HK for purposes other than to live as your wife (I'm sure you can imagine what those might be).

Q4. Given that this is for a maximum duration of 8 or 9 months (given that it will take 4-8 weeks at least to process the application) then I think it would be hard to justify spending several thousand HK$ on an agency, although people like VisaPro don't charge you anything unless the application is successful.

Q5. Once rejected I don't see much point in the time available - any reapplication will undoubtedly take several months. But I haven't heard of many (or even any) genuine applications being rejected - the problem is that sometimes it takes 2 or 3 months or more to provide all the evidence to ImmD's satisfaction.

[Skyhook]

The company can not act as her sponsor unless they are employing your wife. As the one with the employment visa then you are the one who must sponsor.

There is no set figure for how much you need but guesses have been around HK$ 30,000 I seem to remember. That is how much I showed them and they accepted it, but my salary is much higher than yours so the situation is not the same.

Hulls & PDLMS posts sound about right, from what I have heard from other people.

Generally what IMD means by proof of your relationship, ie photo's of all holidays together, matching up passport dates, letters written to one another, proof of sponsors employment, HK IRD Tax return, and bank statement to support...

To be honest everybody I have spoken to who has been successful, in all cases the sponsor was earning more than $25K per month plus ....In all cases it was between a professionally employed HK Chinese citizen and a western European professional, property was owned jointly in some cases, and the sponsors financial position was very solid, which seems to be a matter of importance to IMD, especially if you can afford to pay for deportation costs, should the dependent that you are legally responsible for, decides to break a law, that breaches their visa conditions...

For a bit of extra info, HK IMD;s website has a guidebook for sponsors of dependents ID 998 (E) http://www.immd.gov.hk/pdforms/ID(E)998.pdf , I suggest you also download the PDF file ID 997 http://www.immd.gov.hk/pdforms/ID997.pdf which is the actual application.


Once you have compiled the application thoroughly, and don't be surprised if you are asked for even more supporting documentation which is at IMD's discretion, and any interviews that might be required for both you and your wife. The interview is very rare though, nobody I know had one, once they lodged their application on the 2nd floor of IMD in Wanchai, they were contacted 4 - 6 weeks later to install the visa into the applicants passport, and asked to re enter HK ( go across the border or Macau for the day ) to have said visa activated, then applying for their ( CO ) Hong Kong ID post haste....

Good luck Sunil, you have a lot of work to do....

[Akki28]

Guess I can not thank all of you enough for your kind feedbacks..Though I could get a clear idea ab the minium salary level that IMM dept. looks for in a sponsor..( Guess Its no where clearly mentions..) but thanks to all of you have got an idea ab the whole picture. yes..the stage looks tough for me and my wife here..but we have to just try and hope for the best..!

Once again thanks to all of you.!

Qs 1 & 2: You need to show income rather than a bank balance I think; the key phrase is "the sponsor is able to support the dependant's living at a standard well above the subsistence level". Obviously, ImmD is alert to the possibility of you borrowing money for the duration of the application. But since your visa is linked to the specific job then there can be some certainty about your income. HK$12,000 is enough to support two people with free accommodation. HK$6,000 is very tight. If you have to pay for accommodation in your home country out of the salary you are paid there then it might be difficult to convince ImmD.

Q3. "reasonable proof" might include evidence that you have known each other for some time before your wedding (if you took holidays together then photos from those); pictures from your wedding showing the involvement of both your families; any correspondence between you (harder in these days of SMS/Skype/IM than it was in the days of letters); and so on. Remember that what that are looking for is evidence that this isn't a "marriage of convenience" to get your wife into HK for purposes other than to live as your wife (I'm sure you can imagine what those might be).

Q4. Given that this is for a maximum duration of 8 or 9 months (given that it will take 4-8 weeks at least to process the application) then I think it would be hard to justify spending several thousand HK$ on an agency, although people like VisaPro don't charge you anything unless the application is successful.

Q5. Once rejected I don't see much point in the time available - any reapplication will undoubtedly take several months. But I haven't heard of many (or even any) genuine applications being rejected - the problem is that sometimes it takes 2 or 3 months or more to provide all the evidence to ImmD's satisfaction.