[tslee]

Hi all,

I tried sending an email to the immigration office in HK..however no luck in reply. So hopefully, I can get some advice here. This is the situation:

I want to know if my mom can renew her hk identity card and if she has the right to abode, she only has her HK identity card and a certificate of identity (which is supposedly a very old type of identification---it's a green passport book) and her HK marriage certificate.. Keep in mind everything has expired about 30+ years ago after her immigration to Canada.

Thanks for all your help!! Much appreciated.

[Pekkerhead]

my mother-in-law renewed her ID card this year after being resident in the UK for about 30 years. They have recently been changing the old laminated card with new smart cards and were doing oldies on a year by year basis.

For people who reside overseas I think there is some leeway given i.e. if they haven't been able to make it back for when their particular birth dates were being processeed there is no need to rush back to get it done immediately. But once she returns she will have to do it within 30 days.

She needs to come back to HK for a few weeks. Book an appointment with ImmD and go along to have a new photo and thumbprint done. The new card is issued a couple of weeks later.

more info here:

http://www.smartid.gov.hk/en/replace/outside_hk.html

[tslee]

oh wow! thanks Pekkerhead! Did your mother-in-law have 7-year of HK residency record?

Well, my mom was back in HK this year for a wedding, but she had absolutely no time to apply for the ID, are there any violations of not applying for it when she was in HK?

Thanks again!

[Pekkerhead]

my MiL was a resident of HK back in the 60's and early 70's, so she was effectively a resident before the 7 year rule came into force.

To be honest, I don't know if there is a penalty for not applying once in HK.

I am surpised the ImmD did not reply to your email. They are normally very good if a little slow. You should contact them again for clarification.

[Aritaurus]

If your mother goes to the visitor's line and uses her Canadian passport, I don't see a problem. She's coming in as a vistor on a Canadian passport. If she uses that old ID in the HK resident line , then that's a different story. I think this rule mostly applies if you plan to settle in Hong Kong and live there.

I know many Hong Kong immigrants who came to Canada and they visit Hong Kong every year without even bothering to renew their identity cards. They just go in with their Canadian passports and use their 90 day visa exemption since the durations of their stays never exceed a month.