A Hong Kong dependant visa lets the spouse, partner or unmarried child under 18 of a scheme holder or resident live in Hong Kong. Parents aged 60 or above qualify only if the sponsor is a permanent resident or has no limit of stay. The sponsor must prove the relationship, support and housing. Review normally takes about six weeks.
This is one of the cluster guides under our Hong Kong work visa and relocation hub. Hong Kong's rules for family entry are set by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, and everything here follows the Hong Kong Immigration Department (ImmD) page on entry for residence as dependants, also called the application for residence as dependant. ImmD can change its guidelines without notice and decides every case at its discretion, so use this article to prepare, not to predict an outcome.
Who Qualifies for a Hong Kong Dependant Visa
ImmD recognizes three groups of family members. Some guides call this route a Hong Kong dependent visa, and a dependent visa in Hong Kong is the same thing, but ImmD's own wording is entry for residence as dependants. Anyone planning to relocate to Hong Kong with family, or bring dependants in Hong Kong later, should learn that wording first. Each group has its own limits, and the third is the one people most often get wrong.
Relationship | Who qualifies | Main condition |
|---|---|---|
Spouse or partner | Spouse, or the other party to a civil partnership, civil union or same-sex marriage recognized where it was formed | Genuine relationship, supported by documents |
Child | Unmarried dependent child under 18 | Sponsor can support the child |
Parent | Parent aged 60 or above | Sponsor must be a permanent resident or a resident not subject to a limit of stay |
De facto spouses, cohabiting partners and fiancés do not qualify, because cohabitation alone does not create the legal link ImmD requires. A foreign national sponsor still has to prove a lawful relationship. Chinese residents of Mainland China are excluded unless the sponsor falls under one of the listed schemes. Nationals of Afghanistan and the DPRK are excluded, and so are former Mainland residents in Macao who have held a Macao (Macau) Resident Identity Card for under seven years, unless they gained residence through the One-way Permit Scheme.
Spouses and partners
The relationship has to exist in law, not only in practice. A marriage certificate is the usual proof. For same-sex couples, ImmD accepts a civil partnership, civil union or marriage that is legally and officially recognized in the place where it was entered into, generally evidenced by registration in a written instrument.
Children under 18
The test is age under 18 and unmarried status, plus real dependence on the sponsor. Birth certificates show the link, and a passport or other identity document confirms the child's details. An adult child, even one still studying, falls outside this route and would need a scheme of their own.
Parents aged 60 or above
Here is the limit that surprises families. A foreign worker on an employment-type scheme cannot sponsor parents through this route, because ImmD allows parent sponsorship only for permanent residents and residents not subject to a limit of stay. If you are on a scheme with a time limit, plan on bringing a spouse and children, and look at visits for your parents instead.
Which Sponsor or Hong Kong Resident Can Bring Dependants?
ImmD lists the sponsors who can bring family members, and the type of visa or immigration status the sponsor holds decides everything else. A sponsor who is a Hong Kong resident with no limit of stay has the widest rights. The list is broader than most guides suggest.
- Professionals in Hong Kong admitted for employment under the General Employment Policy, the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals, the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates, the Vocational Professionals Admission Scheme or the Technology Talent Admission Scheme
- People admitted for investment or training, including an investment visa holder
- Full-time students in local programs at local degree-awarding institutions, whose student visa carries narrower dependant rights
- Entrants under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, the Admission Scheme for Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents, the Top Talent Pass Scheme, or the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme launched on 1 March 2024
- Hong Kong permanent residents and residents not subject to a limit of stay
The older Capital Investment Entrant Scheme has been suspended since 15 January 2015. Anyone searching for a travel visa for Hong Kong to bring family for a short stay is asking a different question, and a visit never replaces a dependant application. Check each visa Hong Kong offers before you choose. Our Top Talent Pass guide shows how dependants fit under that credential-based route, and our employment visa article covers the sponsored-job route.
What Does the Sponsor Have to Prove?
Three things decide most applications: a genuine relationship, an adequate standard of support, and a place to live. ImmD requires that the sponsor can support the dependant at a standard well above subsistence level and provide suitable accommodation. It does not publish a minimum salary or a minimum floor area, and no reputable source can give you one with certainty.
That gap is an honest limit of this guide. Two sponsors with different incomes can both succeed, and two with similar incomes can get different results, because ImmD weighs the whole picture. The Director of Immigration may refuse an application even when all criteria appear to be met.
The documents ImmD names are straightforward.
- Applicant: a recent photograph, a valid travel document, a Hong Kong ID card if one is held, and proof of relationship such as a marriage or birth certificate
- Sponsor: a Hong Kong ID card, a valid travel document or Permanent Identity Card, proof of financial standing such as bank statements, tax receipts or salary slips, and proof of accommodation such as rental receipts
- Translations: anything not in Chinese or English needs a certified translation
How to Apply for a Dependent Visa in Hong Kong: The Application Process
The application process below describes the usual sequence when a family joins a sponsor who already holds status. Anyone who wants to apply for a dependent visa should note that the visa requirements depend on the sponsor's scheme, and the visa options for parents are narrower than for a spouse. A dependant visa on its own is not a long-term visa, because the stay is linked to the sponsor's.
- Confirm that the sponsor's scheme or status allows dependants and that each family member fits a qualifying group.
- Collect relationship, financial and accommodation documents, with certified translations where needed.
- Submit the application for entry for residence as dependants with the required documents.
- Pay the non-refundable application fee. Under the specified schemes, each dependant pays this fee and then a visa issuance fee after approval.
- Wait for the decision, which ImmD normally gives about six weeks after it holds all documents and fees.
The fee amounts are not stated on the ImmD page and sit in a separate fee table, so check it on the day you apply. Remember that every family member files separately. A spouse and two children means three applications, each with its own application fee and, after approval, its own visa issuance fee.
One practical warning. A dependant visa application is only as strong as the sponsor's own paperwork. If the sponsor's income proof, lease and tax records disagree with each other, ImmD can pause the review for clarification, and the six weeks only run once the file is complete.
Online Application System: Forms Submitted Online and the e-Visa
ImmD runs an online application system for entry for residence as dependants. For a dependent visa application, the review clock starts only on receipt of all documents and fees. The application form must be completed in full. The forms are submitted online through the GovHK page, where the applicant uploads a recent photograph, a valid travel document, any Hong Kong identity card and proof of the relationship. Applicants under 16 need a parent or legal guardian to sign the form. Under some schemes, including the General Employment Policy and the Top Talent Pass Scheme, the sponsor can use the online submission service to include the dependant's application when submitting the sponsor's own. To submit an application, gather the dependent visa documents first, and submit the application forms only when the sponsor's evidence is ready, because the review starts once ImmD holds everything.
The application fee paid is non-refundable irrespective of the application result, and a visa issuance fee follows on approval. Payment options include credit card, the Faster Payment System and Mainland e-wallets. After payment, the applicant can download or print the e-Visa, and at arrival the applicant presents the valid travel document and the e-Visa at the immigration counter. Mainland Chinese residents also need an Exit-entry Permit with the relevant exit endorsement.
Families already in Hong Kong should check their visa status before filing. A person currently staying in Hong Kong as a visitor cannot treat a visit as a new visa, and a valid visa or permission to stay must cover the whole period. Non-permanent residents do not need a re-entry visa if they return within their permitted limit of stay and their circumstances have not changed, and any re-entry visa held should be listed with the documents. For a child born in Hong Kong to non-permanent residents, ImmD asks for the birth certificate, Form ID 235B and the parents' marriage certificate.
Can Dependants in Hong Kong Work or Study?
Study is simple, and a valid visa allows school-age children to study in Hong Kong without prior permission, so residence in Hong Kong can start with school enrolment. All dependants may study without prior permission, which makes school-age children the easiest part of the move to plan. Work needs more thought, because the rules change with the sponsor's status, and a dependant visa is not a work permit in its own right.
Because a visa allows work only on the sponsor's terms, the sponsor's visa situation matters. Dependants of permanent residents, residents not subject to a limit of stay, and entrants under employment and listed schemes may take up employment. Dependants of students may not work without prior permission from the Director of Immigration. If a spouse plans to build a career in Hong Kong, the sponsor's scheme matters before you apply, not after you land.
How Should a Family Relocate to Hong Kong and Sequence the Move?
Moving to Hong Kong as a family works best when the sponsor's own status is in place first, so the family can live together in Hong Kong from day one. Before you bring a family to Hong Kong, confirm the sponsor's right to stay in Hong Kong for the whole period. The sponsor's own status has to be in place first, because a dependant application rests on it. For a sponsor under the General Employment Policy, ImmD normally decides the sponsor's case in about 4 weeks, and the initial stay is normally 36 months or the contract length if shorter. Each dependant visa then follows its own review of about six weeks.
The visa application process shapes the whole schedule. That means a realistic timeline of two to three months from the sponsor's filing to the whole family being settled, before housing, schooling and banking are added. Book a lease only when you know the dates, and keep the rental receipts, since ImmD names them as accommodation proof. Plan school applications around the permitted stay, not around hope.
Our view: if a family can wait for the sponsor's approval before moving anyone, that is the safer order, because it avoids paying fees on applications that depend on a decision not yet made.
How Long Does the Stay Last and How Is It Extended?
A dependant's stay is usually tied to the sponsor's, and the pattern differs by sponsor type.
Sponsor type | Typical stay pattern |
|---|---|
Employment, investment and other scheme entrants | Normally linked to the sponsor's own stay |
Permanent residents and unlimited-stay residents | Extensions normally follow 3 years, then 3 years for spouses and children under 18 |
Permanent residents and unlimited-stay residents, for parents aged 60+ | Extensions normally follow 2, 2 and 3 years |
Students | Initial 12 months, extended annually |
Dependants under the specified schemes can apply for an extension of stay within 3 months before expiry, and at least 6 weeks ahead. Other dependants apply within four weeks before expiry. ImmD normally takes 2 to 3 weeks on extensions.
A dependant visa extension requires that nothing material has changed, and the extension of stay application must be made online while the applicant is in Hong Kong. An applicant who has to remain in Hong Kong while it is pending should still plan to leave before the limit of stay unless ImmD approves otherwise. Where a permanent resident sponsors, the sponsor may submit a valid travel document or a Hong Kong permanent identity card. The Government of Hong Kong expects the basis of the stay to continue. A divorce, the sponsor's death, or a sponsor who no longer lives in Hong Kong as a bona fide resident can end the basis for the dependant's stay. Applicants must also generally leave Hong Kong before their stay expires, even while an extension is pending, unless the Director approves otherwise in exceptional circumstances.
Dependants admitted for residence who want to reside in Hong Kong for good need seven continuous years of ordinary residence before they may apply for the right of abode in Hong Kong. Our permanent residency guide explains how ImmD tests that.
What Commonly Goes Wrong
ImmD does not publish refusal statistics for this route, so these points come from the criteria, not from a ranking.
- Relationship evidence that does not match across documents, such as different name spellings
- A sponsor who relies on a short-term job offer, a business in Hong Kong with thin accounts or a small savings balance
- Accommodation proof that covers only a room the whole family cannot realistically use
- Assuming a parent can join an employment-visa holder
- Treating a long visit as if it were residence, then overstaying while waiting
Families who file for a spouse and children together at least keep the sponsor's evidence consistent across one review instead of several.
A refusal does not always end the matter. Our refusal and appeal guide explains the options and their limits.
A fair view from the criteria: families with a stable salary history, a proper lease and clean documents tend to have the strongest files, and the document quality matters at least as much as the income figure. Wherever a family sits on that spectrum, a second reader should check the file before it goes in.
Next Steps Before You Apply for a Hong Kong Dependant Visa
Begin by confirming that your sponsor's scheme supports a dependant visa for the people you want to bring, and that each person fits a qualifying group. Bring family to Hong Kong only when the paperwork is consistent. Then gather the proof in two piles, one for the relationship and one for financial support and housing. Compare the two piles for consistency before you submit.
For visit visa questions before the move, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in your country and the Hong Kong government website explain the entry requirements. LAINEXUS can support applicants through its Hong Kong visa service, and you can reach the team from the LAINEXUS homepage if you want a file review first.
This article is general information, not legal or immigration advice. ImmD decides each case at its discretion, so check the ImmD dependants page and the General Employment Policy page for the current rules before you file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who qualifies for a dependant visa in Hong Kong?
A spouse or recognized partner, and unmarried dependent children under 18, qualify when the sponsor holds an eligible status. Parents aged 60 or above qualify only if the sponsor is a permanent resident or a resident not subject to a limit of stay. De facto partners and fiancés do not qualify.
How long does the application take?
ImmD normally takes about six weeks for an entry application once it has all documents and fees. Extensions under the specified schemes usually take two to three weeks. The period starts only when the file is complete, so missing documents delay everything.
Can a dependant visa holder work in Hong Kong?
It depends on the sponsor. Dependants of permanent residents, unlimited-stay residents and employment or listed-scheme entrants may take up employment. Dependants of students may not work without prior permission from the Director of Immigration. All dependants may study without prior permission.
Can I sponsor my parents on a work visa?
Not through this route. ImmD allows parent sponsorship only when the sponsor is a Hong Kong permanent resident or a resident not subject to a limit of stay, and the parent must be 60 or above. A sponsor on a time-limited employment scheme cannot use it.
What does a dependent visa cost?
ImmD charges a non-refundable application fee and, after approval, a visa issuance fee under a two-tier structure for dependants of specified schemes. The page does not print the amounts, so check the current ImmD fee table. Each family member pays separately.