Generally speaking, spouse of Hong Kong permanent resident cannot acquire the right of abode in the HKSAR by virture of their marriage unless the spouse is eligible, on his / her own accord, for Hong Kong permanent resident status under any provision of Schedule 1 to the Immigration Ordinance.
Under the present immigration regulations, other than persons who have the right of abode (ROA) or right to land (RTL) in Hong Kong, any persons who want to take up employment, establish or join in a business, study or settle in Hong Kong, they will have to obtain an appropriate visa before arrival.
For a sponsor who has been admitted into the HKSAR to take up employment (as a professional, for investment to establish/join in business, or for training) or studies (in a full-time undergraduate or post-graduate local programme in a local degree-awarding institution), or who is permitted to remain in the HKSAR as an entrant under the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme or the Admission Scheme for the Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents, the following dependants may apply to join him/her for residence in the HKSAR:
- (i) his/her spouse; or
(ii) the other party to a same-sex civil partnership, same-sex civil union, “same-sex marriage”, opposite-sex civil partnership or opposite-sex civil union entered into by him/her in accordance with the local law in force of the place of celebration and with such status being legally and officially recognised by the local authorities of the place of celebration; and
- his/her unmarried dependent child under the age of 18
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 the HKSAR:
- (i) his/her spouse; or
(ii) the other party to a same-sex civil partnership, same-sex civil union, “same-sex marriage”, opposite-sex civil partnership or opposite-sex civil union entered into by him/her in accordance with the local law in force of the place of celebration and with such status being legally and officially recognised by the local authorities of the place of celebration; and
- his/her unmarried dependent children under the age of 18; and
- his/her parent aged 60 or above.
This entry arrangement does not apply to:
- Chinese residents of the Mainland [except for those whose sponsors have been admitted to take up employment (as professionals, for investment to establish/join in business, or for training) or studies (in full-time undergraduate or post-graduate programmes in local degree-awarding institutions), or whose sponsors have been admitted as entrants under the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme or the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme];
- former Mainland Chinese residents residing in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) who have obtained Macao identity cards for less than seven years, unless they have acquired residence in the Macao SAR through the One-way Permit Scheme; and
- nationals of Afghanistan and Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of).
Application Forms
Applicant should complete Part A of application form ID997, while Part B of the form should be completed by the sponsor. The application form ID997 can be obtained free of charge from the following offices:
- Immigration Department Headquarters.
- Immigration Branch Offices.
- Overseas Chinese Diplomatic and Consular Missions.
- Immigration Division of the Office of the Government of the HKSAR in Beijing.
- Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong.
The forms can also be downloaded from the Immigration Department’s website at https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/forms/hk-visas/residence-as-dependants.html
| Note: | The existing entry application forms, i.e. Application for Entry for Employment as Professionals in Hong Kong ID990A, Application for Entry for Training in Hong Kong ID992A, Application for Entry for Study in Hong Kong ID995A, and Application for Entry for Investment (to establish/join in business) in Hong Kong ID999A have built in the accompanying dependant’s application. The sponsor may include his/her accompanying dependant’s application for entry for residence when completing the aforesaid entry application forms, and the accompanying dependant will not be required to complete application form ID997 separately. |
Supporting Documents
Please refer to the checklist at ID(E)998 – Guidebook for Entry for Residence as Dependants in Hong Kong :- https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/forms/forms/id-e-998.html
Where a document is not in Chinese or English, it must be accompanied by a Chinese or English translation certified as a true translation by a sworn translator, translation company, court translator, authorised public translator, certified translator, expert translator or official translator.
You may find a translation service in Hong Kong here.
Submission of Application
The application form must be duly completed and signed. For a child applicant under the age of 16, it must be signed by the parent or legal guardian of the child. Completed application form, i.e. ID997, and all supporting documents should be submitted by the applicant or the local sponsor in either one of the following ways:
- By post directly or through the local sponsor in the HKSAR to:
| Receipt and Despatch Unit Hong Kong Immigration Department 2/F, Immigration Tower 7 Gloucester Road Wan Chai, Hong Kong |
- Applicants residing in overseas countries or territories may submit their application forms together with the relevant supporting documents and their travel documents in person to the nearest Chinese diplomatic and consular missions in their place of domicile.
- Holders of foreign passports who are living in the Mainland may submit the application forms together with all supporting documents to the Immigration Division of the Office of the Government of the HKSAR in Beijing (Beijing Office) or the Immigration Division of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Shanghai (SHETO). Applicants are required to produce their valid travel documents to the Immigration Division of the Beijing Office or the Immigration Division of the SHETO so that a visa/entry permit could be issued if the application is approved. The addresses of the two Mainland offices are:
The Office of the Government of the HKSAR in Beijing
No. 71, Di’anmen Xidajie, Xicheng District
Beijing 100009
People’s Republic of China
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Shanghai
21/F, The Headquarters Building, 168 Xizang Road (M), Huangpu District
Shanghai 200001
People’s Republic of China
Travel Documentation Requirement
Visa/Entry permit label will be issued upon successful application. It should be collected by the sponsor from the Immigration Department for onward transmission to the successful applicant. For application submitted to the Chinese diplomatic and consular mission or the Immigration Division of the Beijing Office, visa/entry permit will be issued through the relevant Chinese diplomatic and consular mission or the Immigration Division of the Beijing Office as appropriate.
Payment of Fees
If the application is submitted to the Hong Kong Immigration Department direct, payment of fees HK$ 230 should be made upon collection of the visa/entry permit by the local sponsor either in cash, by EPS or by cheque. The cheque should be crossed, made payable to “The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region”, properly dated and signed.
If the application is submitted to an overseas Chinese diplomatic and consular mission or the Immigration Division of the Beijing Office, the visa/entry permit fee should be paid direct to the Chinese diplomatic and consular mission or the Immigration Division of the Beijing Office as appropriate.
Processing Time
It will normally take six weeks to process a visa/entry permit application for residence as dependant upon receipt of all the required documents. The Immigration Department would not be able to start processing the application unless all the required documents and information are received.
For the address/tel/fax numbers of the Chinese diplomatic and consular missions in overseas, you may visit the following website for more information.
http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zwjg/default.htm
For more information on residence visa, please visit our website :-
If a person is aged 11 or over and has entered HKSAR on visa with stay granted for more than 180 days, he/she is required to register a non-permanent resident HK identity card within 30 days of arrival.
Dependants of the following persons are not prohibited from taking up employment in the HKSAR:
- Hong Kong permanent residents;
- persons who are not subject to a limit of stay (i.e. residents with the right to land or on unconditional stay);
- persons who have been admitted for employment (as professionals, for investment to establish/join in business or for training); and
- entrants under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme or the Admission Scheme for the Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents.
However, dependants of persons who have been admitted into the HKSAR to study are prohibited from taking up employment in the HKSAR unless they have obtained prior permission from the Director of Immigration.
All dependants do not require prior permission from the Director of Immigration to study in the HKSAR.