[jimmyssmak]

Hi folks,

I am 100% Hongkonger and recently my GF who is Australian and we are planning to marry next yr APR. Meanwhile, we have the questions about residency...

When we are getting marriage in Apr 2004, could she apply for permanent stay immediately right after the marriage? or how long does she need to wait before your application will be allowed? could she be possible to stay in hk while she is waiting for her permanent stay?

Would I need to be employed at the time that she lodges her application? if so, any min. income would b the limit?

Also, would she need to give up her australian citizenship when her application has been approved? At the moment, I am holding British Nation (Overseas) as well as Australian passport...I havent declare that I have dual citizenships....

I was thinking...even she gave up her aussie citizenship..she could easily get it back as I am australian citizen..is that right?

Thanks for your advise.

Jimmy.

[berryplucker]

Permanent residence is independent of citizenship, but marriage to a HK resident does not automatically give you permanent residence. What she can apply for immediately is a dependent visa which, assuming you are a Permanent Resident, gives her the right to work. I don't think there is any income requirement on you as such so long as you can demonstrate your ability to support her.

As I understand it, for her to get Permanent Residence she either has to stay here legally for 7 years or take HK Citizenship (which in theory requires her to renounce her Australian Citizenship, but as you have shown dual nationality is tolerated). But there is no advantage to doing this so long as she intends to remain married to you.

[jimmyssmak]

Berry,

hrrm thanks for your reply berry. I am very clear now at this stage with the right to work and whatsoever as i have read many thread about dependant last night. BTW, my suitation is...

I (HK Permanent Resident ID holder) just came bak to HK from Australia not long ago and stayed with my parents at the moment and I dun really have much savings tho and gonna start with a computer sales job which is like $5k + commission job which sounds pretty tough...peanut...

and even my partner she is gonna have few thousands of AUD savings when she comes ova, but i worry that my finanical status would not be benefical at all.

Can anyone or Emigra give me a hand here?

Thank heaps.

Jimmy.

[berryplucker]

Sorry to be blunt, but does your Australian girlfriend really understand that she would be coming here to live with your parents, most likely in an apartment whose entire space is smaller than her living room at home?

[jimmyssmak]

yup, she has been to HK couples of time already. She understood what sort of living standard I am gonna provide her. She dun really mind at all, as we ve planned to rent a nice tiny apartment of ourself once she ve got a job as well..

However, the real problem is...she is a Malaysian Born Chinese, and she has migrated to Australia when she was 2 yro with her family. Luckily she could speak fluent Cantonese but cant read 98% chinese characters. She was a Bachelor Commerce graduate (Management & Business Law) and worked in a dental surgeon for more than 2 yrs (no formal cert or qualification on dental). I am not sure if it would b hard for her to get a job in hk...but her english command is excellent...compare with me...
:P

[nivantj]

Hmmm.. sounds interesting jimmy. What i understand from your current story is that she is happy with your 5k+ job, which implies she wont mind getting any kind of job initially....So forget about her Quali. or whatever for the time being. Thats the story which will begin after she joins you.. But the real concern at the moment is your salary doesnt seem good enough to support her and make sure about accomodation as well... They will definitely check your financial status and 5k+ and shared accomo. will alarm them for sure... They don wont any more CSSA applicants... Better consult Immg consultant before applying.