HKID for common law wife and her 4 yo son

Closed Thread
  1. #1

    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    20

    HKID for common law wife and her 4 yo son

    I just received my HKID for employment and I am interested in learning if I can get dependent visas if I am not legally married.

    If it is problematic to get an HKID, could I hire my common lawwife (girl friend) as a domestic helper?

    She is an EU passport holder.

    Thanks in advance for any expert insight.


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,205

    No you can't is the simple answer.

    If you can prove that you have been living together for a significant period then your partner and her son could get Extended Visitor Visas valid 12 months at a time, which would allow her to come and go as she pleased, but she couldn't work or study using that, and nor would she be entitled to free healthcare an so on. I'm not sure how that would work for education, but clearly her son wouldn't be eligible for the public system.

    But if you haven't been living together for an extended period then she can't get anything here.

    And no you can't employ her as a domestic helper with an EU passport.

    Marry her is the easy solution - quick cheap and easy in Hong Kong.

    Last edited by PDLM; 05-04-2010 at 12:52 PM.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    6,076
    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Marry her is the easy solution - quick cheap and easy in Hong Kong.
    ... which is what all women want to hear about their wedding

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,205

    You can have a fancy wedding ceremony/party/whatever wherever and whenever you want - just get the legal paperwork done straight away. Mrs PDLM and I were married for seven months before anyone except the two witnesses knew about it.


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    8,561

    also not sure if the 4 yr old would be able to go to school without a proper visa (not just an extended visitor visa).


  6. #6

    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    20

    wow, thanks for the quick replies.

    does not seem too romantic for me to go down on one knee.... will thee take my hand in wedlock as the HKID process would be so much easier this way


  7. #7

    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    8,561

    not romantic, but very practical...

    takes the guess work out of:
    visas
    healthcare
    education


  8. #8

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,205

    The only other way is for her to get a visa in her own right. Either an Employment Visa if she can get an appropriate job, a Capital Investment Entrant Scheme visa if she has HK$6.5M to invest, a Quality Migrant Admission Scheme visa if she meets the criteria (this takes a while to get through the paperwork though), or a Study Visa if she gets accepted for a suitable course.

    Details of all those visas here: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - Immigration Department


  9. #9

    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    20

    I will have to marry her if I learn she has HKD 6.5 mil laying around