[PDLM]

Originally Posted by Aritaurus

Not necessarily. If Gweilo has the Right of abode in Hong Kong and his child is born there, the child will automatically have the Right of abode up until the age of 21.

Only if he is married to the mother at the time of the child's birth. This is the essence of "illegitimacy".

[carang]

i know asking a friend to hire her isn't the best solution. but there's nothing to say that she can't do some ironing, etc a few times a week for it to be a little more legit.

[shilo507]

Originally Posted by kombuchakid

Take a trip to Manila
Get a new passport
[under a new name]
You come back and commence formalities to hire a domestic helper.

This is possible (and goes on) but this matter is complicated because of the baby. The best and ultimate solution is still for Gweilo to finalise his divorce and marry the girl and apply to bring his wife and child to HK as dependants.

If they have already approached immigration, securing a new passport for the girl and seeking for her to obtain a HK visa under this falsehood is very dangerous for both and I do not recommend it. If they ultimately marry in HK the girl will (probably) have to provide birth certificates to confirm her identity and this is where it gets messy.

At least Gweilo does have an option (marriage) and it's a very good option. I am sure that any lawyer in HK will advise him to use that option. I cannot foresee any problems in this respect except perhaps a very bitter ex who may drag things out and twist the knife but that is a different story and Gweilo will have to deal with that. In any case he will get his divorce in the end.

[Mat]

I found many comments on this thread quite cynical and useless. Telling the OP was he SHOULD have or SHOULDNT have done in the past is useless and, I assume, can only make the people with some large ego feel better about themselves (otherwise why doing it...).

I do not have any solution to propose to Gweilo and will not hijack his thread any longer. I accept freedom of speech but instead of trying to find a solution to his problem, some people clearly prefer boasting about how smarter they are and how they somehow brilliantly avoided being in his position.....

[KnowItAll]

>> Telling the OP was he SHOULD have or SHOULDNT have done in
>> the past is useless

I agree about the hindsight / foresight thing and passing a judgement.

However...

Don't you think by picking on others who have picked on him, you also fall into the same trap of offering a judgment and not a helpful suggestion?

Just a thought ...

(Anyways .. probably time to shut this thread down before it digresses further... )

[shilo507]

[quote=KnowItAll;206390 (Anyways .. probably time to shut this thread down before it digresses further... )[/QUOTE]

Ok - but in fairness, Gweilo has been offered some helpful advice and a potential solution amongst the 'unhelpful' comments. He got the advice for free. Any immigration lawyer in HK would advise him the same and charge him HKD 4K per hour for the same advice.

I know his situation is bad and I do have 'some' sympathy for him. However, I don't think he has anyone else to blame but himself.

If he reads this post and wants someone to talk to about it I will gladly lend an ear. So, Gweilo, if you wish to chat about it over a beer, PM me.

[hullexile]

KIA, know you closed the previous thread down but I was away so could not reply to that one.

Gweilo, have been in your situation (awaiting a divorce, pregnant Filipina gf, immigration issues) so some input.

Firstly having the baby in the Philippines is not too bad. Had our first there out of necessity (immigration) but having the second there out of choice. Means we are separated for a while but also means my wife has the support of her family.

Once you have the baby you might find immigration are more open to a visa application - especially as by then you might have a finalised divorce. Certainly that was my experience.

Just a note of warning, getting a birth cert in the Philippines (obviously needed before getting a passport) can take months! I ended up emailing the boss of the relevant gov't dept enclosing a photo of the baby - got a personal reply and a birth cert the next week.

[KnowItAll]

Didn't close the thread .. was contemplating it.