Another visa for girlfriend thread

[SloppyJoe]

I know there has been something similar posted recently but this is more to do with getting a visa from the immigration department in Wanchai. Wondering if anyone has experience with this and can shed some light.

My girlfriend is moving to Hong Kong but because of her nationality can only stay here for two weeks then will need to go to macau and back. As you can understand this will get very annoying pretty quick.

Looking on the immigration website it says you can sponsor someone for a visit visa but is that just for family or would I be able to get her a longer stay visa rather than just the 2 weeks if she has no visa?

[bacou]

I have the same issue with my girlfriend.
The best solution I could find was to enroll her in a language centre and get a student visa valid one year.
If you need more info I can send you details via PM.

[SloppyJoe]

Does she have to go to the language course or once enrolled with a visa can she just not go? If you could pm me the details that would be great, thanks.

[christn]

Marry her then divorce her. Get it over with now!

[SloppyJoe]

Have to get divorced first :)

[nitpicker330]

Get another Girlfriend, there are heaps hanging around Lan Kwai Fong.:}

( The ones you don't have to pay !! )

[CokeZero]

I think there is something about a frequent visitor to HK. More to do with business people but you can ask. I have seen something at the airport about this.

No harm in asking

[Sqwak7700]

You can fork out the money to make her your domestic helper. Then she can stay for much longer, but it is much more expensive.

[fire wall]

Guidebook for entry for residence as dependants in HKG
document ID (E) 998 (04/2009)
page 4 section 5

An application for admission as a dependant may be favourably considered if:
(a) there is reasonable proof of a relationship between the applicant and the sponsor;
(b) there is no know record of detriment of the applicant; and
(c) the sponsor is able to support the dependant's living at a standard well above the subsistence level and provide him/her with suitable accomodation in the HKSAR

... available online.

[AAIGUY]

"Sqwak7700 You can fork out the money to make her your domestic helper. Then she can stay for much longer, but it is much more expensive."


Cheaper than divorce.. she's an employee not a spouse!

[SloppyJoe]

Fire Wall,

Thanks for the suggestion but to be a dependent you need to be married. The section before the bit you posted says:

For a sponsor who is a Hong Kong permanent resident or a resident who is not subject to a limit of stay (i.e. a resident with the right to land or on unconditional stay), the following dependants may apply to join him/her for residence in Hong Kong:
his/her spouse;
his/her unmarried dependent children under the age of 18; and
his/her parent aged 60 or above.
Will look into the domestic helper idea.

[Evanelpus]

Looks to me that you are trying to use loopholes to get the document you require. I suppose you support law and order when it suits you as well.

[SloppyJoe]

Not really, if we need to go to Macau once every two weeks then thats what we will do. Just looking for an easier way and if that means doing something that is legal such as starting a foreign language course to make our life easier then what is the problem with that? It is perfectly acceptable to go to macau and back to get a stamp but if i can get a longer visa for say three months then that is what I will do. If I can't but can enroll her on a course so she can get a visa then that is what I will do. Going to look into domestic helper as that is the most gray as she would not really be a domestic helper and reading the info on the immigration website it says she can only give massages for medicinal or mobility reasons. Would prefer to be able to just get a longer visa and asked if anyone has experience with this issue to help me out a bit. If there is a loophole I can use then great as that would be legal or else it would not be called a loophole. Your point is?

[Flaps10]

It's stressful enough having to leave every 3 months to renew the visitor visa. I couldn't imagine having to do it every two weeks. Also, we, and others I know, have run into problems in that immigration is not accepting many visits to and from Macau or Schenzen to renew visa's. We now go home or away for 3+ months at a time to minimize the amount of entries stamped in the passport. If you get flagged thats it...

Also, with regards to the extended visitor visa, this is a one off thing. If you get approved its not like you'll be able to go back when it expires to get a new one.

Really, the only way for things to work in HK long term is to get married otherwise the stress will become too much of a strain on your relationship.

[Orangputi]

Wow give the guy a break Evanel and SoCal,

Who are you two the morals police?

Sloppy Joe is just looking for an easier way to continue his relationship. Perhaps constructive asisstance would be better than your sermons hey!

Remember those without sin cast the first stone!

[Fac6]

Going to Macau and back into HK will not work after 3 or 4 times.

The immigration department are stamping down on this kind of loophole. I have 2 good friends that were doing it with their girlfriends. With one of my buddies on his girlfriends 3rd trip she was given just a week and told if she did it again she would be flagged and game over for her.

In the end she left him!

I would go the Domestic Helper route as its way way cheaper than marriage :-)

[hongkongfooey]

Fac6, correct, same thing happened to a friend of mines missus after 3 visits.
Hiring a helper is not all that expensive, a few grand ( basically bribe ) to philipine ( or whichever ) consulate and a bit of paperwork.

[FairlieFlyer]

bribery - the practice of offering something (usually money) in order to gain an illicit advantage

er... not quite - in this case its called the fee to get a domestic helper as per the published schedule. Lets not get too excited over this

[stillalbatross]

You may find that those apparent fools at immigration aren't quite as dumb as you think. So unless your GF is Asian and comes from a country that has plenty of domestic helpers employed in Hong Kong your solution won't actually work.

Then of course there is the small problem of you and her "breaking up" and her running to immigration saying she's merely your DH and she felt she had no choice but to let you bang her.................

If you choose this route (root) to take please post on here again if it all gets messy, we need a laugh:)

[christn]

Aussie tells his mates he's planning to sail around the world.

One says 'Which route you going' to take?'

He replies 'Think I'll take the missus!'

[hongkongfooey]

er... not quite - in this case its called the fee to get a domestic helper as per the published schedule. Lets not get too excited over this 22nd June 2010 16:08

Unless it has changed recently, which I doubt, there is no " scheduled fee " you can get a domestic helper contract approved with no fee, we were told it was a lot easier and quicker to pay the $2500 to the consulate, call it what you want

[onprofile]

Why buy a book when you can join the library ?