[tstexpat]

I have a friend who wants to give up his Aussie Citizenship for a Hk one. He has been here for 12+ years and is a permanent resident.

Does anyone know what the procedure is and how long it would take for him to get a HK Chinese Passport.

Thanks

[berryplucker]

Yes - the Immigration department. http://www.immd.gov.hk mailto:enquiry@immd.gov.hk

[tstexpat]

Yah I know about the immigration department website but their details are very vague. He also went in to see them and they kept asking him not to bother applying for Hk cistizenship as he didn't need it.
This is different from a work visa application hence I was wondering if anyone had detailed info.

[nivantj]

This issue has been discussed over & over on this website... You may search other threads for detailed info.
Bottomline... HK Citizenship requires change of Nationality and to become Chinese National without chinese blood is not an easy bet.... Check out who qualifies to be Chinese National on ImmD website and you might drop the whole idea...

[tstexpat]

Thanks Guys
I stopped by this afternoon and the process seems slightly complicated but the guys should qualify. They seem to have no problems with Aussies or North Americans. It seems like they want to keep the South Asians especially the Indians and Pakistanis out for some reason.
Since my friend owns a few properties in Hk, is married to a local and speaks and writes Cantonese they think he should have no problem. The entire proces takes 5-6 months.

[Roger]

I happened to be in Immigration today applying for my son's passport, so I asked the Nationality Section about naturalisation. What their website doesn't tell you is the procedure if you're approved. It works like this.
1 They give you a letter of Approval-in-Principle
2 You take this letter to your consulate and apply to renounce your foreign citizenship.
3 You take the Renunciation Certificate back to Immigration and they issue a Certificate of Naturalisation to you
4 You then apply for HK travel documents ASAP if you wish to travel (and a new HKID I think)

[tstexpat]

Roger
The info you got is pretty accurate except that you need to fill in loads of paperwork and there are wait periods. I am considering renouncing my US citizenship for a HK one. If I decide to go through with it I will post a long message in here.

[penguinsix]

Renouncing your US citizenship is pretty tough. I think you are basically banned from travelling to the US for 10 years, and the IRS basically thinks you are a tax dodger and will still come after you. I know many HK'ers who are/were green card holders (permanent resident) in the US who gave that up once they got a HK passport (though technically it is pretty hard to maintain permanent residence in the US while you live in HK, though many do).


http://travel.state.gov/law/citizens...nship_776.html is the official version.

http://www.frissell.com/taxpat/Renounce.htm has some horror stories of trying to do so...

[Roger]

I know about the wait periods, as this much is explained in Immigration's website. What their information doesn't tell you is how the giving up of foreign nationality is administered, which is important for those of us who cross the border several times a week, as it means a down time of about a month while new travel documents are issued and your original ones have been cancelled due to the renunciation of your former nationality

[gulab]

Yes this is not explained at their website. After you get the letter of approval on change of nationality, in less than a month you will get the passport as well as the China re-entry permit to enable you to cross the border. I am an Indian and I don't think there is difficulty in getting the HKSAR passport for Indian or Pakistani or anyone who can present documents which the department needs. Some good homework is required to put the documents in order, which any Government department requires. I had no difficulty whatsoever in getting the passport nor faced any delays. The documentation required no doubt is elaborate and time-consuming, but certainly not unreasonable. The application was accepted after first interview itself.