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It’s a common enough problem, where unmarried couples are coming to Hong Kong, one to work, one trailing in the other’s wake. I have covered variations on this scenario previously, but this question is excellent as it gets to the heart of how to manage the inevitable visitor status of the non employed partner through ’til such a time as both parties are able to gain employment visa status.

QUESTION

“I viewed your Hong Kong visa presentation & I was wondering if you could help me with a query?

My partner is travelling over to Hong Kong to work for an airline. As we are not married I will not be a dependent person.

I was told that I would receive a tourist visa for 3 months which could be lengthened by travelling outside HK & re-entering.

I hope to find employment in HK & remain on, on a work visa.

Please advise on:

(1) Should I mention my intention of seeking employment when entering HK or on a visa application?

(2) Your opinion on whether extending the visa based on the desire to find work in HK is possible?”

ANSWER

This is a really interesting question because ostensibly the visa upon arrival privileges that are afforded to more than 180 different nationalities are such that you have to present yourself as a bona fide visitor in order to qualify for admission under these arrangements, and it then begs the question as to what is permitted activity under the visitor visa category.

A practical experience suggests that coming to Hong Kong to look for work is perfectly lawful. Although, if you are to indicate that this is your intention when you’re at the border, the officer may misconstrue what your real motivations are, and may conclude that actually whilst you think that you’re just looking for work he may conclude that you’re going to be engaging in work.

So you increase your risk profile as a bona visitor when you present yourself if you nominate to the examining officer what’s bringing you to Hong Kong at this point in time. So ostensibly, if you’re going to be entering or exiting Hong Kong to spend time with your partner who does have an employment visa, then you just explain that is the purpose of your visit. And I would stay silent as to your intentions to look for and ultimately secure work in Hong Kong and then adjust your status to get an employment visa.

Now, in terms of whether it’s possible to extend your visa based on the desired working in Hong Kong, I’ll just refer you to what I mentioned earlier. If you’re coming as a visitor, don’t expect the Immigration Department to support your desire to extend your stay as a visitor because you’re pursuing the local job market in anticipation of finding a position subsequently that would lead you to make an employment visa application. So keep the two very discreet and very separate.

Having said all that, primarily the vast majority of cases that we do for employment or indeed investment visas are done on what is effectively a change of status application basis where you find yourself in Hong Kong as a visitor and a job often manifests itself, and you then make an application to adjust your status from visitor to employment. And once that process has played itself out, you’ll be granted an employment visa label that you would then have to make an exit from Hong Kong – Macau, Shenzhen, Zhuhai are all fine, relinquishing your visitor visa status as you make the exit.

Then place the employment visa label on a clean page in your passport and turn right around and come straight back into Hong Kong, entering with your visitor visa, and the immigration officer will activate you at the point of entering Hong Kong.

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