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PR application eligibility

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  1. #1

    PR application eligibility

    Hi guys,

    Just wondering if anyone of you have ever applied for PR and succeeded on the basis that you accidentally broke the 7 years chain.

    Brief background on my case:
    I am a foreigner (non-mainland) hk resident and have been in hk since August 2014. (Almost 6 years). During my first 4 years I resided in hk under student visa. My student visa was due to expire in 18 aug 2018. Once I finished my final term in June 2018, I went home abroad for 3 months n came back to hk on 23rd august 2018. By that time my student visa already expired and I came back to hk under tourist visa.

    During these 3 months I already applied for IANG (Immigration Arrangemnents for Non-Local Graduates) visa and my application was approved on 13 August 2018 (before my student visa expired).
    i also Secured a signed job offer on 5th feb 2018 if this is relevant.

    However, as i came on tourist visa, i needed to activate the new working visa (IANG) by getting out of hk and came back to do so. I did it on 8 Sep 18. So between 23 august and 8 sep 2018, I was technically not a hk resident.

    My question is, does this make me ineligible to apply for a PR, once i make the 7 year mark of being an hk resident, or will the immigration officer judge it based on the weight of all facts that i have been residing in hk lawfully for these 7 years notwithstanding the fact that I accidentally broke the chain on an insignificant period of time?

    apppreciate your thought on this. Thanks!


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    2,267

    If there is any break in visa then you are not eligible for PR. It should be continuous


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    1,693

    I think you can just try to apply and see if they approve it. I heard of people who had a break and got it approved. There probably won't be a clear answer to when such breaks are still approved..

    chuckster007 and Stheodora like this.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Posts
    94

    Hi Stheodora, there's a legal principle called the "de minimis rule" which means they will disregard small breaks in continuity of your resident status.

    The limit isn't explicitly stated, but you might be ok. I think based on the facts you give, the gap is actually 19 August - 7 September i.e. three weeks. The fact you had already applied for an IANG visa, and it was approved, before 19 August would likely strengthen the case that the gap is insignificant.

    As RobRoy suggests, you should probably just apply in August 2021 and then see what they do. Good luck, and please do tell us how it turns out!

    Stheodora and shri like this.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Hong Kong side
    Posts
    1,824
    Quote Originally Posted by Stheodora:
    Hi guys,

    Just wondering if anyone of you have ever applied for PR and succeeded on the basis that you accidentally broke the 7 years chain.

    Brief background on my case:
    I am a foreigner (non-mainland) hk resident and have been in hk since August 2014. (Almost 6 years). During my first 4 years I resided in hk under student visa. My student visa was due to expire in 18 aug 2018. Once I finished my final term in June 2018, I went home abroad for 3 months n came back to hk on 23rd august 2018. By that time my student visa already expired and I came back to hk under tourist visa.

    During these 3 months I already applied for IANG (Immigration Arrangemnents for Non-Local Graduates) visa and my application was approved on 13 August 2018 (before my student visa expired).
    i also Secured a signed job offer on 5th feb 2018 if this is relevant.

    However, as i came on tourist visa, i needed to activate the new working visa (IANG) by getting out of hk and came back to do so. I did it on 8 Sep 18. So between 23 august and 8 sep 2018, I was technically not a hk resident.

    My question is, does this make me ineligible to apply for a PR, once i make the 7 year mark of being an hk resident, or will the immigration officer judge it based on the weight of all facts that i have been residing in hk lawfully for these 7 years notwithstanding the fact that I accidentally broke the chain on an insignificant period of time?

    apppreciate your thought on this. Thanks!
    OK I just got an approval for verification of eligibility right of abode on day 7 after an application submitted on the dot at 7 year residence : I don't know but that's got to be some sort of record .
    The case had some wrinkles in it such that I decided to use Steve Barnes. HK visa centre
    Absolutely best money I have ever spent : contacted him on a Sunday evening he got straight back to me with a strategy that evening : Actually till document verification I did not even need to attend immigration which was important to me due onerous work commitment :
    Anyway for me it was money well spent . And I have to say immigration are lightning fast when everything is presented to them in the proper manner .
    So you could consider such professional advice if your case is not straightforward and your circumstances permit
    shri, vmlinuz and Stheodora like this.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Posts
    94
    Quote Originally Posted by hongkong7:
    The case had some wrinkles in it such that I decided to use Steve Barnes. HK visa centre
    Absolutely best money I have ever spent : contacted him on a Sunday evening he got straight back to me with a strategy that evening : Actually till document verification I did not even need to attend immigration which was important to me due onerous work commitment :
    I agree with you about Steven Barnes's HK visa centre, he's very professional. However I'd be very cautious about some other people in the immigration consultancy "industry", some of whom are quite ignorant and little better than scammers. You can end up paying far more than Steven will charge you, and perhaps even more importantly, their wrong advice can totally mess up your life.
    hongkong7 and Stheodora like this.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    8,280
    Quote Originally Posted by Stheodora:
    Hi guys,

    Just wondering if anyone of you have ever applied for PR and succeeded on the basis that you accidentally broke the 7 years chain.

    Brief background on my case:
    I am a foreigner (non-mainland) hk resident and have been in hk since August 2014. (Almost 6 years). During my first 4 years I resided in hk under student visa. My student visa was due to expire in 18 aug 2018. Once I finished my final term in June 2018, I went home abroad for 3 months n came back to hk on 23rd august 2018. By that time my student visa already expired and I came back to hk under tourist visa.

    During these 3 months I already applied for IANG (Immigration Arrangemnents for Non-Local Graduates) visa and my application was approved on 13 August 2018 (before my student visa expired).
    i also Secured a signed job offer on 5th feb 2018 if this is relevant.

    However, as i came on tourist visa, i needed to activate the new working visa (IANG) by getting out of hk and came back to do so. I did it on 8 Sep 18. So between 23 august and 8 sep 2018, I was technically not a hk resident.

    My question is, does this make me ineligible to apply for a PR, once i make the 7 year mark of being an hk resident, or will the immigration officer judge it based on the weight of all facts that i have been residing in hk lawfully for these 7 years notwithstanding the fact that I accidentally broke the chain on an insignificant period of time?

    apppreciate your thought on this. Thanks!
    There is a good chance you will be fine. I have done similar around 5 years ago. My employment visa expired before I could renew it (I was just lazy). I left Hong Kong for a business trip, visa expired while out of HK, I re-entered on a tourist visa, applied and received employment visa extension, did a Macau run to reactivate it. Then at the end of 7 years I applied and got PR without this incident even being discussed.
    Stheodora likes this.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    8,280
    Quote Originally Posted by Plutark:
    If there is any break in visa then you are not eligible for PR. It should be continuous
    This was not true in my case. Immigration are typically not arseholes and make logical exceptions.
    Stheodora likes this.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Posts
    94

    Hi DeletedUser,

    Unfortunately, with several months between your student visas, it's very unlikely they'd be considered "de minimis" (minimal) gaps. So yes you'd likely have to wait till 9/2026. You could always apply in 2024 (you can apply at any time and it's free) but I'm pretty sure you'd be rejected.


  10. #10

    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Posts
    318

    The gap you mention is trivial ; you were in between visas. Hong Kong immigration is much more practical and flexible than that.

    You should have no problems with this gap.

    Quote Originally Posted by Stheodora:
    Hi guys,

    Just wondering if anyone of you have ever applied for PR and succeeded on the basis that you accidentally broke the 7 years chain.

    Brief background on my case:
    I am a foreigner (non-mainland) hk resident and have been in hk since August 2014. (Almost 6 years). During my first 4 years I resided in hk under student visa. My student visa was due to expire in 18 aug 2018. Once I finished my final term in June 2018, I went home abroad for 3 months n came back to hk on 23rd august 2018. By that time my student visa already expired and I came back to hk under tourist visa.

    During these 3 months I already applied for IANG (Immigration Arrangemnents for Non-Local Graduates) visa and my application was approved on 13 August 2018 (before my student visa expired).
    i also Secured a signed job offer on 5th feb 2018 if this is relevant.

    However, as i came on tourist visa, i needed to activate the new working visa (IANG) by getting out of hk and came back to do so. I did it on 8 Sep 18. So between 23 august and 8 sep 2018, I was technically not a hk resident.

    My question is, does this make me ineligible to apply for a PR, once i make the 7 year mark of being an hk resident, or will the immigration officer judge it based on the weight of all facts that i have been residing in hk lawfully for these 7 years notwithstanding the fact that I accidentally broke the chain on an insignificant period of time?

    apppreciate your thought on this. Thanks!