China: Whether a Chinese national who is married to a permanent resident of Hong Kong would be able to acquire permanent residency status in Hong Kong
In 19 February 2008 correspondence, an official at the Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong provided the following information concerning Hong Kong residency rights for spouses of permanent residents of Hong Kong.
1) PRC [People's Republic of China] mainlanders who have married [Hong Kong] permanent residents must first apply for a 1-way travel permit for travelling to [Hong Kong]. They must submit their 1-way travel permit applications to the Public Security Bureau (PSB). Normal processing time is about 5 years. Such applications could be refused on MOC [marriage of convenience] grounds.
2) The PRC PSB uses a points system to determine if a one-way travel permit will be granted.
3) Once the 1-way travel permit to [Hong Kong] is granted, the applicant may travel to [Hong Kong] and will be granted residency in [Hong Kong] for 7 years. [The] [a]pplicant may apply to for a [Hong Kong] Document of Identity from [Hong Kong] Immigration to use as a travel document. They may also choose to travel on their PRC passports.
4) After the applicant has resided in [Hong Kong] for 7 years, fulfilling the permanent residency requirements of [Hong Kong], they may apply for [Hong Kong] permanent resident status. After acquiring [Hong Kong] permanent resident status, they may apply for a HKSAR [Hong Kong Special Administrative Region] passport for travel purpose.
5) If the applicant is a foreigner, other than a PRC mainlander, married to a [Hong Kong] permanent resident, the applicant can apply to [Hong Kong Immigration] for "dependant" status. This will take about 4 to 6 weeks. The applicant may then reside in [Hong Kong] as their spouse's dependant and apply for [Hong Kong] permanent resident status after having lived in [Hong Kong] for 7 years. (Canada 19 Feb. 2008)
In a 21 February 2008 telephone interview, a representative of the Hong Kong Trade Office (HKETO) in Toronto indicated that the procedures described above apply to Chinese nationals from mainland China, residing in mainland China. However, procedures to obtain residency rights in Hong Kong apparently vary depending on such factors as the country from which the Chinese national is applying and the immigration status of the applicant (e.g., whether the person is a refugee, an illegal immigrant, a student visa holder, etc.) (HKETO 21 Feb. 2008). Information on these procedures could not be obtained within the time constraints of this Response.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Canada. 19 February 2008. Correspondence from an official at the Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO), Toronto, Canada. 21 February 2008. Telephone interview with a representative.
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Consulted with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Canada) based in Toronto.
Internet sites, including: European Country of Origin Information Network (ecoi.net); Factiva; Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Canada; Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York; Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Washington DC; Hong Kong Immigration Department; United Kingdom Home Office; United States Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC); U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI).