Planning to have kids in hk

A

Ashe

New member
hi guys - im born in HK (I have HKID) but have NZ citizenship, and my husband is from Malaysia - we've been working in hk for over 1 year now, and thinking bout having a kid in hk - does it automatically mean the kid gets HKID? and does anyone know if the kid will get Malaysian PR as well?

whats to look out for prior etc etc.. im pretty new to this and i dont have much girlfriends here that i can seek advice from... :rollbaby:

any good ideas would help thanks...
 
I belive at least one parent must be of Chinese descent, preferably both. The nationality of the parents is not important.

Both my husband and I are Malaysian Chinese. Our daughter was born here in HK, and we had to demonstrate our Chinese lineage by producing our own birth certificates at the time we registered our daughter's birth. She is entitled to a HKID (3 stars) when she turns 11. However she is a Malaysian citizen and has a Malaysian passport. When she is an adult, she can choose to take up a HK passport and give up her Malaysian passport (Malaysia does not allow dual nationality). That is entirely her choice for later.

Another case - my friend is a HK born Chinese, now a US citizen. Her husband is American-German descent. Both their daughters, born in HK, are entitled to HKID, although also have US passports.

The HK Immigration website has information on "permanent right of abode" but when I read it last time, I found it a bit confusing.
 
This is my understanding:

Are you or your husband are permanent HK ID holders-either because you are Hong Kong Chinese or you have the right abode because you've lived her continuously for 7 years or more? You need to check and see if you have permanent residency here in Hong Kong--just because you were born in Hong Kong does not guarantee that--especially since you were born before 1997. At the time of the handover to China, the government gave all people who were born in Hong Kong (even those living overseas) the opportunity to file for a Hong Kong ID card but there was a time limit to that--if you are a Hong Kong ID holder because you obtained permanent residency status at that time or some time after then you are considered a Hong Kong "citizen" and you can file for permanent residency on behalf of your children as well.

If you are here on a work visa (you had to obtain a work visa or any other type of visa--tourist etc. in order to enter Hong Kong) and have a HK ID (non-permanent) because of that of course your child will receive a dependent visa (so the baby will remain with you) but babies are not issued HK ID cards so you will need to obtain a birth certificate from the HK government after your baby is born and then take that birth certificate to either the New Zealand consulate or the Malaysian consulate to register the birth and apply for a passport from one of those countries.

Hong Kong is unusual because it is not a separate "country" by itself yet in some ways it does operate like a separate country--it's the "one country, two systems" principle. If you are the holder of Chinese citizenship (you have a passport issued by the Hong Kong SAR or a Chinese ID card that allows you cross over the border into China) then you are considered a permanent resident of Hong Kong and all you need to do is file for permanent residency for your child and apply for a passport here in Hong Kong.
 
i went onto the HK immigration website and found it a bit confusing as well.

so just to clarify ... if both parents hold foreign passports and are HK non-permanent residents, is the baby eligible for permanent residency if one of the parents are of chinese descent? what is the definition of "chinese descent" - does the parent have to be born in china ? or grand parents ? or great grand parents ?
 
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