Dependant visa: spouses, children and parents of Hong Kong sponsors

Eligibility requirements

• Sponsor categories include Hong Kong permanent residents; residents not subject to a limit of stay; persons admitted for employment as professionals under the GEP, ASMTP, IANG, VPAS or TechTAS; persons admitted for investment or training; full-time degree-level students at local institutions; and entrants under the QMAS, TTPS, ASSG, CIES and New CIES.
• Eligible dependants: a spouse, or the other party to a civil partnership, civil union or same-sex marriage legally recognised in the place where it was entered into; and unmarried dependent children under 18. Cohabiting partners, de facto spouses and fiancés do not qualify.
• Parents aged 60 or over may be sponsored only by a Hong Kong permanent resident or a resident not subject to a limit of stay.
• Reasonable proof of a genuine relationship between the applicant and the sponsor; no known record to the applicant's detriment.
• The sponsor is able to support the dependant's living at a standard well above the subsistence level and provide suitable accommodation in Hong Kong.
• Normal immigration requirements, including a valid travel document with adequate returnability, apply. Approval is discretionary.

Legal framework

Build the evidence

Prepare records that substantiate the relevant criteria. The final checklist depends on the applicant, route and filing authority.

• Dependant: travel document, photograph, and for applicants under 16 an application signed by a parent or legal guardian.
• Relationship: marriage or partnership certificate recognised where celebrated, birth certificates for children, and for parents evidence of the parent-child relationship and age.
• Sponsor: Hong Kong identity card, travel document showing current permission or permanent-resident status, and evidence of the sponsoring visa or scheme.
• Means: employment contract, payslips, tax demand notes, bank statements or business accounts showing capacity to support the family well above subsistence.
• Accommodation: tenancy agreement, title deed or employer-provided housing letter.
• Certified translations of any document not in Chinese or English.

How to apply

1. 01

   Confirm the sponsor's category and the dependant's eligibility

   Check whether the sponsor's permission is one that allows dependant sponsorship, whether the relationship is recognised in the place it was entered into, and whether parents are eligible (permanent residents and unconditional-stay sponsors only).

2. 02

   Assemble the relationship and means evidence

   Prepare the relationship documents, the sponsor's income and accommodation evidence, and any explanation of unusual circumstances such as long separation or recent marriage.

3. 03

   File with the sponsor's application or separately

   Dependants may apply together with the sponsor's principal application or afterwards. Under the specified schemes a non-refundable application fee is payable for each dependant, with a visa issuance fee on approval. ImmD states that processing normally takes six weeks.

4. 04

   Enter, register and record the conditions

   Register for a Hong Kong identity card where required. Dependants of students must not work unless they first obtain the Director's permission; dependants of other listed sponsors are not prohibited from working. All dependants may study without prior permission.

5. 05

   Extend in step with the sponsor

   Dependants under specified schemes may apply within three months before expiry and should apply at least six weeks before; others within four weeks. Extension requires that the dependant still qualifies and that the sponsor remains a bona fide Hong Kong resident.

After approval & family planning

• Dependants of employment, investment, training and talent-scheme sponsors, and of permanent residents and unconditional-stay residents, may work without a separate work permission. Dependants of students may not work without prior permission.
• A dependant's permission is linked to the sponsor's. If the sponsor's status lapses, changes to a non-sponsoring category or the relationship ends, the dependant's basis of stay ends with it; review options before that happens.
• A child who reaches 18 no longer qualifies as a dependant child and will need their own basis to remain, for example study or employment permission; plan this before the birthday.
• A dependant who has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than seven years may apply for verification of eligibility for a permanent identity card in their own right.

What this route builds, and what it opens

WG assesses every route on three returns: the knowledge it adds, the cognitive capability that sustained work abroad develops, and the institutional opportunity it opens or closes. Real work is the mechanism in each case.

Programme context. Dependant permission supports a participant's family during a Hong Kong employment step. Where a spouse takes up genuine employment in their own right, their record may be assessed separately. Read the framework ↗

Frequently asked questions

Points to consider

• The sponsor's means test is applied to the whole family; a sponsor on a modest package with several dependants should expect questions about accommodation and support.
• Each dependant's permanent-residence eligibility is assessed on their own residence, not the sponsor's; keep separate records of absences for each family member.