Can A Foreign Domestic Helper Working In Hong Kong For 30 Years Automatically Secure The Right Of Abode After Marrying A Hong Kong Permanent Resident?
Posted in Family Visas, Long Stay & PR, The Hong Kong Visa Geeza, Your Question Answered /
The question of right of abode for Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong is a wound that continues to bleed…
QUESTION
If a Philippine domestic helper has been in Hong Kong continuously for 30 years can she obtain permanent residency after marrying a foreign (British) permanent resident?
If not, can she remain in Hong Kong under any other visa category?
ANSWER
It’s now abundantly clear under the law in Hong Kong that any time spent in Hong Kong as a Foreign Domestic Helper (FDH) will not count towards ordinary residency for the purpose of a Right of Abode application. So in this instance, if you marry a foreign domestic helper as a permanent identity card holder yourself, and then you wish to live your lives in Hong Kong, then she must adjust her immigration status from foreign domestic helper through to dependent, which the Immigration Department will be happy to do.
And then after she has held a dependent visa for seven years, in her own right, she will then be able to make an application for the Right of Abode and will be able to adjust her status accordingly. So even though she’s had 30 years in Hong Kong previously as a foreign domestic helper, unfortunately, those 30 years don’t count for anything.
She’s going to have to adjust the status through to dependent after marriage, and then, after seven years of holding the dependent visa, make an application for the Rights of Abode. Okay, I hope you found that useful.
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The Hong Kong Visa Geeza (a.k.a Stephen Barnes) is a co-founder of the Hong Kong Visa Centre and author of the Hong Kong Visa Handbook. A law graduate of the London School of Economics, Stephen has been practicing Hong Kong immigration since 1993 and is widely acknowledged as the leading authority on business immigration matters here for the last 24 years.
