Dependants

If you hold, or are about to hold, a work visa, a place under a talent scheme, or a student visa, these notes set out how a spouse, a child, or a parent can come to Hong Kong as a dependant, and what a dependant may do here. They follow the Immigration Department page on dependants (page revised 5 August 2026, checked 19 October 2026). In a particular case, the Immigration Department decides.

Who can be a sponsor

1. A person permitted to take up employment in Hong Kong. That covers a professional permitted to work under the General Employment Policy (GEP), the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP), the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG), the Vocational Professionals Admission Scheme, or the Technology Talent Admission Scheme (TechTAS). It also covers an entrepreneur who has established or joined a business, and a person permitted to come to Hong Kong for training.
2. A person permitted to study in Hong Kong. This is limited to a student on a full-time local bachelor's degree or postgraduate programme at an institution that awards the degree in Hong Kong. A programme that leads only to a degree awarded by a non-local institution is outside this, even where the programme is run jointly with a local institution.
3. Talent and investment schemes. A person already permitted to come under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS), the Top Talent Pass Scheme, the Admission Scheme for the Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents, the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, or the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme. The Capital Investment Entrant Scheme is suspended. A person already permitted to come under it is still in this group.
4. A Hong Kong permanent resident, and a Hong Kong resident who is not subject to a limit of stay. That means a person who has the right to land, or who may stay unconditionally.

Who can come as a dependant

1. A sponsor in categories 1 to 3 may bring:
   1. a spouse, or the other party to a same-sex civil partnership, a same-sex civil union, a same-sex marriage, an opposite-sex civil partnership, or an opposite-sex civil union, where the relationship is lawful in the place it was formed and is officially recognised there;
   2. an unmarried dependent child under the age of 18.
2. A sponsor in category 4, a permanent resident or a resident who is not subject to a limit of stay, may also bring a parent aged 60 or above, in addition to those 2 groups.
3. A person who is not a permanent resident, and who holds a work visa, IANG, the Top Talent Pass Scheme, or QMAS, cannot bring a parent as a dependant. If a parent wants to live here for the long term, the parent can only use another route that the parent qualifies for, or apply after the sponsor has become a permanent resident.

On what counts as a civil partnership, the Immigration Department states that it must be a legal regime similar to the relationship of spouses in a marriage. It generally has 4 features:

1. The local law provides for how the relationship is formed and how it is dissolved.
2. It must be registered with the competent authority of that place.
3. The registration is proved by an instrument issued by the competent authority.
4. Both parties undertake to live together for the long term, in a way similar to spouses.

Conditions of approval

1. Reasonable proof of the relationship can be provided, for example a marriage certificate or a birth certificate.
2. The applicant has no known adverse record.
3. The sponsor can maintain the dependant's living above the basic level, and can provide suitable accommodation. The wording on the TechTAS page, and on the page for the Immigration Department arrangement for entrepreneurs to invest in Hong Kong, is "well above the basic level".

The Immigration Department has not published a specific figure for income, or for the size of the accommodation (checked 19 October 2026). In practice, you should prepare the following to show that the sponsor can maintain the dependant, and to show the accommodation:

1. The sponsor's employment contract, recent proof of salary, and bank statements.
2. The tenancy, or the title deeds.

Who cannot apply

1. A Mainland Chinese resident cannot apply, unless the sponsor is a person in categories 1 to 3 in the section on who can be a sponsor. Where the sponsor has been permitted to take up employment in Hong Kong, or to study a local degree programme, a Mainland spouse or child can apply.
2. A former Mainland resident who now lives in Macao and has held a Macao identity card for less than 7 years cannot apply, unless that person obtained Macao resident status under the one-way permit scheme.
3. Nationals of Afghanistan and North Korea.

Application and timing

1. Submit the application online and upload the supporting documents. The online application systems for the employment, talent, and investment schemes, the online system for coming to Hong Kong to study, and form ID 995A, each include a part for an accompanying dependant. The sponsor may submit that part together with the sponsor's own application. If the dependant is under the age of 16, a parent or a legal guardian must sign the form.
2. After the Immigration Department has received the documents and the application fee in full, processing generally takes 6 weeks. If the documents are not complete, processing does not start.
3. An application as a dependant under a specified scheme requires a non-refundable application fee. After approval, a visa issuance fee is payable on a 2-tier scale. The table of fees is on the Immigration Department page on the new fee structure for visa applications under specified schemes.
4. After approval, the Immigration Department issues an e-Visa.
5. After a Mainland resident is approved, that person must apply to the relevant Mainland authorities for an Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao, and for the related endorsement for travel to Hong Kong. On entry, the e-Visa is produced as well.

Extension

1. When to file. A dependant under a specified scheme may apply for an extension within the 3 months before the limit of stay expires, and should submit it at the latest 6 weeks before expiry. Other dependants may apply within the 4 weeks before expiry.
2. Processing takes about 2 to 3 weeks.
3. While you wait for the result, you must leave Hong Kong before the limit of stay expires, unless the Director of Immigration gives approval in a special case. Overstaying is a criminal offence.
4. The pattern of the period granted:
   1. The spouse of a permanent resident, and a child of a permanent resident who is under the age of 18, are usually granted on a 3-3 year pattern.
   2. A parent of a permanent resident, aged 60 or above, is usually granted on a 2-2-3 year pattern.
   3. A dependant of a sponsor who holds a work visa or who is under a talent scheme generally has a limit of stay tied to the sponsor's.
   4. A dependant of a student sponsor is generally granted 12 months first, and then applies for an extension year by year.
5. For an extension, the dependant must still qualify. There must have been no loss of sponsorship, for example a change in the marriage with the sponsor, or the death of the sponsor. The sponsor must still be a Hong Kong resident who is genuinely residing in Hong Kong.

The steadier order is for the sponsor to extend first, and for the dependant to follow.

Work and study

1. A dependant of any of the following sponsors may take up employment in Hong Kong without restriction:
   1. a permanent resident;
   2. a resident who is not subject to a limit of stay;
   3. a person permitted to take up employment in Hong Kong;
   4. a person who came under QMAS, the Top Talent Pass Scheme, the Admission Scheme for the Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents, or the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme.

A dependant in this group may be employed on the strength of the dependant status. A separate work visa is not required.

1. A dependant of a student sponsor must not take up employment in Hong Kong unless the Director of Immigration has given permission beforehand. This is the restriction people most often miss.
2. No dependant needs the Director's permission beforehand in order to study in Hong Kong.
3. Once a dependant has found a job, the dependant may apply separately under the relevant scheme to change to an independent work visa, for example where there is concern that the sponsor's status may change. Whether the change is worth making depends on the relationship with the sponsor, and on how stable the length of the visa is.

The 7 years for permanent residence

The Immigration Department page states that a person permitted to reside in Hong Kong as a dependant may apply in accordance with the law for the right of abode, if that person has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than 7 years. Time spent as a dependant counts as ordinary residence in the same way. For how that period is judged, see the briefing in this series on ordinary residence and permanent residence, and how the 7 years are counted.

Common questions

1. Can an unmarried partner apply? What the Immigration Department lists is a spouse, and a civil partner or a party to a civil union that is recognised by the law of the place where it was formed and is registered there. A cohabiting relationship that is not registered in any place is not within what is listed.
2. What happens when a child turns 18? Eligibility as a dependant requires the child to be unmarried and under the age of 18. When a child is close to 18, you should plan ahead for a student visa or for another status. The website does not set out how an extension is handled if the child has already turned 18 by then (checked 19 October 2026). Ask the Immigration Department.
3. Does a change of job by the sponsor affect the dependant? The dependant's limit of stay is generally tied to the sponsor's. After the sponsor's visa changes, the dependant's next extension is assessed on the new circumstances.

Sources

• Immigration Department, Dependants webpage and the webpage on extension of stay for dependants (page revised 5 August 2026, checked 19 October 2026)
• Immigration Department, Technology Talent Admission Scheme webpage, section on dependants (page revised 16 April 2026, checked 19 October 2026)
• Immigration Department, webpage on the arrangement for entrepreneurs to invest in Hong Kong, section on dependants (page revised 16 April 2026, checked 19 October 2026)
• Immigration Department, New fee structure for visa applications under specified schemes (checked 19 October 2026)