is a visa required for an unpaid internship?

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  1. #1

    is a visa required for an unpaid internship?

    i just moved here a month and a half ago and because my parents are hong kong citizens, i'm eligible to apply for an hk identification card. i'm awaiting their reply right now, but i hear that the success rate at the wan chai branch isn't very high so i may have to re-apply at the tuen muen office.

    anyway, i'm bored out of my mind not being able to work and wouldn't mind doing an unpaid internship at an ad agency while i wait for my approval. i'm just wondering if a visa is required for that even if i'm not getting paid...


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,181

    Eh? You can't legally "move here" without a visa or immigration status permitting you to do so. There is absolutely no difference in the immigration rules between Wanchai and Tuen Mun!

    Your parents being HK citizens does NOT in itself give you any status other than that of a visitor in HK. It depends on where and when you were born, and what your parents' immigration status was when you were born.

    You need a visa to live here even without work! And, yes, you need an Employment Visa even for unpaid work.

    Last edited by PDLM; 27-01-2010 at 07:11 PM.

  3. #3

    thanks for the info!

    oh i didn't mean that there was a difference in the rules, just maybe the ppl may be stricter? my friend who was BORN in hk, but moved away when she was 7 came back to get her id card when she was 18 was turned down in wan chai, but when she went to reapply in tuen muen she was able to get it.

    anyway, based on my parents status and everything else, i'm applying for the "right of abode".

    Last edited by lady.luxe; 28-01-2010 at 04:00 AM.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    779

    Did your friend have right of abode? Perhaps it was just a misunderstanding by the immigration department. But that being said, I think what you are referring to are the "Registration of Persons" offices. They're the ones that you go to register for ID cards and passports, they don't actually handle the application and verification of ROA status.