[Kawaii75]

Desperately seeking advice

scenario: I was born and raised in Canada and recently relocated to HK to explore other opportunities. My mother was born in HK and Dad from China. At the time of my birth both parents became canadian citizens.

My mother recently came back to HK to get her HKID, she received 3 stars ROA. Although, my mother was born in HK she was not able to submit proof ie. birth certificate. Therefore, immgration accepted her application under category 2(chinese citizen who resided in HK for more than 7 yrs) and not category 1(Chinese citizen born in HK)

I recently applied for the ROA under category 3 person of chinese nationality born outside HK and was declined due to I am NOT considered a chinese national.

Since, I do not qualify for ROA, would I qualify for the right to Land?

I ve done some research but there appears to be conflicting information. My main reason for applying for ROA is to be able to temporarily work in HK. I know there are other alternatives ie. sponsorship but this limits my chance of finding work.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

THank you:bounce:

[Aritaurus]

Originally Posted by Kawaii75

Desperately seeking advice

scenario: I was born and raised in Canada and recently relocated to HK to explore other opportunities. My mother was born in HK and Dad from China. At the time of my birth both parents became canadian citizens.

My mother recently came back to HK to get her HKID, she received 3 stars ROA. Although, my mother was born in HK she was not able to submit proof ie. birth certificate. Therefore, immgration accepted her application under category 2(chinese citizen who resided in HK for more than 7 yrs) and not category 1(Chinese citizen born in HK)

I recently applied for the ROA under category 3 person of chinese nationality born outside HK and was declined due to I am NOT considered a chinese national.

Since, I do not qualify for ROA, would I qualify for the right to Land?

I ve done some research but there appears to be conflicting information. My main reason for applying for ROA is to be able to temporarily work in HK. I know there are other alternatives ie. sponsorship but this limits my chance of finding work.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

THank you

I think I know why you were declined. It might be because you claimed to a Chinese national on the grounds that you were born overseas to Chinese nationals. If your parents were Permanent Residents or Canadian citizens at the time you were born, you're not considered a Chinese national.

I think your best bet is to re-apply under category 7 - Person not of Chinese nationality born before 1997 to parents who had the Right of Abode in Hong Kong. I almost made the same mistake but the immigration officer was nice enough to change it for me before I handed the application in.



I hope you got my PM. I hope this helps.

[mixolyd]

Hello,

A couple of months ago, I applied for ROA under category 2(7) on the 'Application for Verification of Eligibility for Permanent Identity Card.'
My scenario is much like Kawaii75.
My mother had just received her new HKPIC over this past summer.

The Immi. Dept. did ask me to furbish additional documents, regarding the nationality status of my parents at the time of my birth, about 3 weeks after my application was submitted.

Just recently, I had received a letter from the Immi. Dept. stating that based on the information I had given to them, category 2(7) did not apply to me, or that I was not able to establish that I was permanent resident before 1 Jul 1997.
Also in the letter, they stated that my parents, although were Chinese Nationals, but had already settled in Canada at the time of my birth. I had already expected this, as I know that I am not a Chinese National, based on the research I had done, which was why I applied under category 2(7) instead of 2(3).

My question is, if you do not qualify for ROA, then are you given RTL automatically?
If so, will the immigration inform you that you qualify for RTL?
It would be greatly appreciated to hear from those that had gone through the application process and had qualified for RTL.

Thank you.

[Aritaurus]

Originally Posted by mixolyd

Hello,

A couple of months ago, I applied for ROA under category 2(7) on the 'Application for Verification of Eligibility for Permanent Identity Card.'
My scenario is much like Kawaii75.
My mother had just received her new HKPIC over this past summer.

The Immi. Dept. did ask me to furbish additional documents, regarding the nationality status of my parents at the time of my birth, about 3 weeks after my application was submitted.

Just recently, I had received a letter from the Immi. Dept. stating that based on the information I had given to them, category 2(7) did not apply to me, or that I was not able to establish that I was permanent resident before 1 Jul 1997.
Also in the letter, they stated that my parents, although were Chinese Nationals, but had already settled in Canada at the time of my birth. I had already expected this, as I know that I am not a Chinese National, based on the research I had done, which was why I applied under category 2(7) instead of 2(3).

My question is, if you do not qualify for ROA, then are you given RTL automatically?
If so, will the immigration inform you that you qualify for RTL?
It would be greatly appreciated to hear from those that had gone through the application process and had qualified for RTL.

Thank you.

My letter made it clear that my claim to permanent residency could not be established but having being born before the establishment of the HKSAR, I was a British Dependent Territory Citizen by descent and therefore subject to verification for the Right to Land. Attached was a sheet outlining the required documents that need to be shown to the immigration officer.

It's strange how you applied under section 7 and were declined. I'm not really sure on what their criteria is on approval for Right to Land is but I do know of people who have also applied in this category and were declined. I was advised that meeting the criteria does not guarantee approval. I also think it depends on immigration officer that handles your case. Usually, it's just one individual that looks at all your documents and corresponds to your inquiries by mail. If you were declined, try applying again.

[lybenben]

RTL is available for those who have had ROA in HK, but later lost it.

This only occurs to non-Chinese nationals-
Non-Chinese nationals who are permanent residents of HK must NOT be ordinarily resident outside HK for over 36 months consecutively, in order to keep their ROA or permanent resident status in HK.
Otherwise you will lose your ROA.

Nonetheless, in such circumstances, you are ELIGIBLE to claim RTL in HK. You may apply to the HK Immigration Dept for:
* a HKID card with the sign "R" (standing for RTL)
* and/or an endorsement on your travel document (e.g. passport) stating your RTL in HK

[Kawaii75]

Thanks for the info Aritaurus. At this point, Im still unsure of what action to take. I can appeal but I wonder if its worth it or should I just reapply under category 2(7). I did speak to the immigration officer and he said I do not qualify under category 2(7) either, mainly due to not being able to provide my parents birth certificate.

Thank you once again for ur time and info.
Greatly appreciate it.

[PDLM]

If you know your mother's date of birth and the district in which she was born it should be fairly straightforward to get a new certified copy of her birth certificate from the relevant registry... http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/bdmreg_1.htm

Moreover, I don't quite understand on what grounds Immigration accepted that she was a Chinese citizen if she couldn't prove her place of birth... could you elaborate on that? Surely just "looking Chinese" and living in HK for more than 7 years isn't sufficient?

[Aritaurus]

Originally Posted by Kawaii75

Thanks for the info Aritaurus. At this point, Im still unsure of what action to take. I can appeal but I wonder if its worth it or should I just reapply under category 2(7). I did speak to the immigration officer and he said I do not qualify under category 2(7) either, mainly due to not being able to provide my parents birth certificate.

Thank you once again for ur time and info.
Greatly appreciate it.

What about your father ? Even though he was born in China, he must have lived in Hong Kong for seven years to become a Permanent Resident. I think if he still has his birth certificate, an old Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card or British Dependent Territory Passport, it should be sufficient to establish your Right to Land.

I still think it's under the discretion of the person that reviews your case. See if you can make another application under category 2(7) and see if they will accept it going under your father. As PDLM said, your mother must have had other documents showing that she was a Chinese citizen at the time you were born , old BDTC Passport or old HKPIC. Try and find out of these help.

Anyways, I hope this works out for you.

[Kawaii75]

HI Aritaurus

My father was born in China. He did study in HK for more than 7 yrs and then immigrated to Canada. Unfortunately, he does not have any documents...the only way I may be able to reestablish his status is if I was to go to his old Christian school in Aberdeen(HK) but even then there's no guarantee. Its a bit more difficult for me to apply under my father b/c all documents has gone missing.

My mother recently rec'd the ROA, she previously applied a few times but was declined b/c she couldn't provide supporting documents ie Old HKID. It was by coincidence that she found an old HKID that was sufficient to reestablish her status in HK under category 2(2).

I will definitely try asking the immigration officer but his knowledge of english is limited and explanation is unclear. I have arranged for an appeal on my case but the process is taking a bit longer then expected. I asked if i can speak to someone personally abt my case but he said there's no one and that the next step is to appeal whichI would need to physically go to the immigration office to pick up forms and then resumbit. Such a hassle.... but I guess I have nothing to lose . Since I m not working I will continue with the appeal. Its just that there's no one in the immigration department that can clearly explain to me why I do not qualify for the right to Land.

[Kawaii75]

Originally Posted by PDLM

If you know your mother's date of birth and the district in which she was born it should be fairly straightforward to get a new certified copy of her birth certificate from the relevant registry... http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/bdmreg_1.htm

Moreover, I don't quite understand on what grounds Immigration accepted that she was a Chinese citizen if she couldn't prove her place of birth... could you elaborate on that? Surely just "looking Chinese" and living in HK for more than 7 years isn't sufficient?

I do know my mothers place and date of birth and I also have old documents that state the date and place of birth Thank you for the website, I will contact the registry next week. I asked the immigration officer specifically, "the reason that I do not qualify for the RTL is it b/c I cannot provide my mother birth cert" and he said yes but was hesitant when responding...I had the impression he couldn't understand me though..

I m really not sure on what grounds immigration accepted her application but i am happy my mom was able to get the ROA. I went through alot to get her status. The supporting documents I sent to immigration on behalf of my mother was a ration card, HKID issued in 1959, her marriage cert(HK), letter of employment in HK, International cert of vaccination dated 1970, a letter explaining her situation re: missing birth cert, old canadian passports, my grandma's permanent HKID, application to sponsor her immediate family and an application for permanent resident in Canada that was declared and signed by the commissioner of HK which states her residing address while she was living in HK, date of birth and place of birth, married in HK city hall, education info etc

In ur opinion and based on the info that i provided, do I qualify for the RTL? Did u go through a similar situation?