Has anybody failed a dependant VISA application?

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    74

    Has anybody failed a dependant VISA application?

    Hello!

    My wife and I are approaching the point of applying for the dependant VISA (she is living in HK right now, I'm in the UK playing the waiting game). We are a little concerned as to the chances of our applications success.

    She is currently in a fairly new job, in which she is earning HK$10k per month, with a chance for this to rise soon to $12k but not definite.

    She was also advised that she should hold the job for 3 months at least as job security would be a bonus.

    Lastly, her mother will provide a letter indicating that we do not have to pay rent for living at a flat that her mother owns, so hopefully that should lop a chunk off of her required earnings.

    One thing that has been asked, is letters proving our relationship. The only letters we have are not in written or even E-Mail form, but the majority of our correspondence is via Facebook private messaging. Is this likely to be acceptable, and has anybody heard of web site private messages being used for this? I'm guess it would constitute the same amount of proof as an e-mail, but the messages dates I'm guessing are also very important.

    I'm wondering, has anybody had circumstances similar to mine and have they been successful or failed?

    I know this Dependent VISA exists for the purpose of allowing a married couple (or kids) to live together in HK, and the reason for the stringent application process is to prevent a marriage of convenience. With this in mind, is it worth going above and beyond to prove that it is not a marriage of convenience, or should the priority still be on proving my wife's financial stance?

    Thanks for any help on this matter


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,205

    Assuming your wife is a HK Permanent Resident (or, even better, citizen) then I think the primary focus should be on proving the seriousness of the relationship. With free accommodation and an income of HK$12K you would be at or above the HK average.

    Things that will help here would be records of holidays together (photos, matching flight records / passport stamps), photos of the wedding (if possible showing lots of family & friends there), and correspondence records.

    When Mrs PDLM applied for her visa it took a while (I'm a PR but there were various factors against us - applying the day after we got married, a simple civil wedding with just a solicitor and two witnesses, and (regrettably*) the fact that she is a Filipina). As part of the follow-up (after we'd given ImmD the requested 6 weeks to think about it) I submitted a couple of other documents they requested, and I do recall that one of the things I took to ImmD on the last occasion was a printout of a Skype log showing the conversations between us over the past several months (that plus SMS were our main means of communication). This caused the ImmD officer some amusement, but within a day or two the application had been granted. It took about 10 weeks in total.

    And to answer your original question, I do not know anyone personally who was married and who had a Dependant Visa application for their spouse refused, and I don't recall hearing of any cases in these forums.

    (*) It is regrettable that this is sometimes a factor when dealing with HK Bureaucracy, not that she is a Filipina

    Last edited by PDLM; 07-10-2009 at 11:26 PM.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    234

    Hi,
    Had no problem applying for my husband. took only 3 weeks.


  4. #4

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Pampanga, Philippines
    Posts
    29,768

    The only thing I could find in writing was a valentine's card! Loads of photos though and that seemed to be acceptable as proof. Same situation as PDLM, i.e. Filipina and applied directly after marriage though we had kids which was both an added complication but also pretty strong evidence of a long term committed relationship. Took 6 weeks.