[soundbarviolatr]

Hello All,

I'm at a loss here and am hoping your community can help provide some guidance. I am a US expat moving to Hong Kong for a 2 year job in the next few months. I have been separated yet still claim married on all legal documents. I would like to take my US girlfriend to live with me in Hong Kong.

Questions:
- Can I sponsor my GF as a resident dependent?

- If I cannot sponsor her as a dependent, what do you suggest would be an alternate way? The only thing I can gather is for her to find a HKG job that can sponsor her.

- If both of the above does not work, can she go to HKG with just her passport (visa free) for 90 days, exit the country for one day (to neighboring countries) and re-enter HKG with a renewed 90 days stay? Can this be done indefinitely throughout the duration of my 2 year+ stay?


Thank you very much for all your inputs and help. I sincerely appreciate it.

SBV

[PDLM]

No you can't sponsor her as a dependant.

Yes, her getting an Employment Visa is about the only way, given that you can't marry her.

The 90-day visa runs will probably work a few times, but every time she re-enters you have the stress of knowing that she may be refused entry or given just a few days in order to close her affairs in HK.

[soundbarviolatr]

Originally Posted by PDLM

No you can't sponsor her as a dependant.

Yes, her getting an Employment Visa is about the only way, given that you can't marry her.

The 90-day visa runs will probably work a few times, but every time she re-enters you have the stress of knowing that she may be refused entry or given just a few days in order to close her affairs in HK.

I cannot really afford to turn downt he job. I had already left mine and the wheels are turning. Besides, I am trying to build a future and college funds for the kids.

How difficult would it be for her to find a company that will sponsor her for work in HK? How realistic would it be for her to find such a job during the first 90 days so that she may get sponsored by the company and stay? She is only 21 with experiences limited to retail and customer service, however, she really only needs a job to sponsor her for immigration purposes and not so much as to make a lot of money.

[hello_there]

21 years old, retail and customer service experience only, (and likely no uni degree or Chinese language skills) means it is pretty much impossible for her to be sponsored for an employment visa. Requirements for employment visa are discussed quite a bit on here and the big one is that you have to have a skill that is not available locally. Look into an extended visitors visa. She won't be able to work, but she will be able to stay longer (six months to a year per visa).

[soundbarviolatr]

Originally Posted by hello_there

21 years old, retail and customer service experience only, (and likely no uni degree or Chinese language skills) means it is pretty much impossible for her to be sponsored for an employment visa. Requirements for employment visa are discussed quite a bit on here and the big one is that you have to have a skill that is not available locally. Look into an extended visitors visa. She won't be able to work, but she will be able to stay longer (six months to a year per visa).

Thank you. Not much guidance or information I can find on the web. How difficult would it be to attain one for 12 months and do you know if she can turn around and be apply for another at the end of the 12 month period if she exits the country?

[carang]

also, keep in mind that you will be working LONG hours. she will most likely be left at home for extended periods of time with not much to do.

i know a lot of women that accompany the men in their lives only to find that they are bored and lonely here. (some are already world travellers who have already lived in more than one country.) and at such a young age, all of the girls your gf will meet her own age will be free and single and most likely out partying.

[carang]

ps> if you do a search on this forum you will find DOZENS of threads regarding work visas.

[hello_there]

Originally Posted by soundbarviolatr

Thank you. Not much guidance or information I can find on the web. How difficult would it be to attain one for 12 months and do you know if she can turn around and be apply for another at the end of the 12 month period if she exits the country?

Re: difficulty I'm not sure. Have not done it myself. From what I understand they are generally granted for 6 months first then 6 or 12 on renewal. You can apply for renewal without leaving HK. Your financial stability will be a factor in it being granted. Try talking to your company about helping with the process or contact HK immigration directly. Immigration will tell you what you need to do and if it is possible for your situation.

One more thing. Consider looking at NGOs and charity organizations as possible employment sponsors. I do know of a couple cases of people accompanying partners who ordinarily would not be granted an employment visa who took almost volunteer type positions at an NGO and were granted an employment visa for a job tailored to the skills the person has, with the employeer stressing the need for native English fluency in the job description. She might also want to look into an internship/ training visa for similar jobs at NGOs or non-profit orgs. They may be willing to take her on and sponsor her if she will work for peanuts. Or, look into having her enroll in some school here that will allow her to get an education visa.

[soundbarviolatr]

Yeah, I took that into consideration. Unfortunately its a fact of life. If she will do it, she'll do so in any corner of the world. But thanks for your input!

[carang]

what about if she applied to university here and got a student visa? she wouldn't be allowed to work, but at least she'd be doing something productive with her time. and at they end of your contract be at least partway to a degree. she wouldn't be borded, she'd meet a lot of people....

if she already has a degree, she could go for a higher degree....

just a thought!