Ordinary residence and permanent status

A person who is not yet a permanent resident can apply for Hong Kong permanent resident status after 7 years of ordinary residence. What follows is the legal basis, how the years are counted, the form, and the documents. It follows Schedule 1 and section 2 of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115), the Immigration Department pages on the right of abode, form ROP145, and the notes on completing the form, ROP145A, checked 18 October 2026. These points are not legal advice.

The legal basis

1. Schedule 1, paragraph 2(b), of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115): a Chinese citizen who has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of 7 years or more, before or after the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a Hong Kong permanent resident.
2. Schedule 1, paragraph 2(d): a person not of Chinese nationality who entered Hong Kong with a valid travel document, has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of 7 years or more, and has taken Hong Kong as their place of permanent residence, is a permanent resident.
3. Schedule 1, paragraph 1(4), distinguishes the two. For a Chinese citizen, the continuous 7 years may fall at any time. For a person not of Chinese nationality, it must be the continuous 7 years immediately before the date of application.
4. A person not of Chinese nationality must declare on ROP146 that Hong Kong is their place of permanent residence.

What counts as ordinary residence

1. ROP145A: living in Hong Kong lawfully, voluntarily, and for the purpose of settlement, for example by studying, working, residing, or something similar, whatever the length of the period. Time spent studying can count.
2. Section 2(4)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance lists periods that do not count as ordinary residence. Item (ii) is a period of remaining in Hong Kong in breach of a condition of stay, for example overstaying.
3. Section 2(4) also lists other periods that do not count, including a period of imprisonment or detention under a sentence of a court. Declaration (6) in Part 6 of ROP145 requires you to declare that, during the 7 years, you were not imprisoned or detained under a sentence or order of a court.

How time outside Hong Kong affects the count

1. Section 2(6): being temporarily absent from Hong Kong does not mean you have ceased to be ordinarily resident in Hong Kong.
2. The question is judged by the reason you were away, the length of the absences, and how often you were away; whether you have a habitual residence in Hong Kong; whether you are employed by a company based in Hong Kong; and where the principal members of your family (your spouse and minor children) are.
3. The Ordinance gives no number of days away that breaks ordinary residence. Claims online, such as "cumulative absence of not more than 180 days in a year", do not appear in the Ordinance or on the Immigration Department website (checked 18 October 2026). What Part 4(2) of ROP145 states is "6 consecutive months or more". That is consecutive. It is not a cumulative total.
4. Part 4(2): if, during the period of ordinary residence, you were outside Hong Kong for 6 consecutive months or more, you must state the period, the reason (with proof), and where you were.

Which day the 7 years start from

1. Part 4(1) of ROP145 asks you to fill in the period of ordinary residence yourself, from ... to ...
2. An express rule for which day the 7 years start from does not appear on the Immigration Department website or in the Immigration Ordinance (checked 18 October 2026). In practice, enter the student visa, IANG, each period of e-Visa, and the arrival and departure records truthfully, and keep the entries consistent with the proof you attach.
3. If there is a gap between the student visa and IANG, a period in which you are in Hong Kong with a lawful stay status is lawful residence. A student extension while you wait for results is an example. If you remain after the limit of stay has expired, that is overstaying. It does not count.

Whether you can submit before the 7 years are complete

1. Declaration (4) in Part 6 of ROP145 states: "I have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of 7 years or more." Signing that declaration before the 7 years are complete is declaring a fact that has not yet happened.
2. A rule on how many days early an application may be submitted does not appear on the Immigration Department website or in ROP145A (checked 18 October 2026).

The form, and how to complete it

1. The form is ROP145, Application for Verification of Eligibility for a Permanent Identity Card (06/2024 edition), with the notes ROP145A. An adult who holds a one-way permit uses ROP169.
2. An applicant aged 18 or above completes Parts 1, 2, and 6, and signs. If you apply under item (2) of Part 2 (a Chinese citizen who has lived in Hong Kong for 7 years) or under item (4) (a person not of Chinese nationality), you also complete Part 4.
3. Part 1: personal particulars, and your status in Hong Kong (unconditional stay, or permission to remain until a stated date).
4. Part 2: a Chinese citizen moving to permanent residence through a route such as IANG generally ticks item (2). A person not of Chinese nationality ticks item (4) and submits ROP146.
5. Part 4(1): the period of ordinary residence. Part 4(2): the declaration of any absence of 6 consecutive months or more.
6. The declarations in Part 6, in short: (3) you entered Hong Kong lawfully on a valid travel document; (4) you were not absent for 6 consecutive months or more, or you have declared the absence in Part 4(2); (6) you were not imprisoned or detained under a sentence of a court during the 7 years; (7) you are now in Hong Kong; (8) the contents are correct, complete, and true; (9) to (11) you agree that the Immigration Department may make enquiries with government bodies and private organisations.

Supporting documents (ROP145A)

1. Your Hong Kong identity card, if you have one, and the travel document endorsed with your current condition of stay.
2. Proof of 7 continuous years of ordinary residence, for example school documents, proof of employment, official receipts, bank documents, salaries tax demand notes, and similar.
3. Submit copies only. Do not submit originals. Copies are not returned. If originals are needed, the Immigration Department will write and ask you to produce them for checking.
4. A document that is not in Chinese or English must be accompanied by a certified translation.

Submission, processing, and the result

1. You may submit online, post the form to the Right of Abode Section of the Immigration Department, or place it in an Immigration Department drop box.
2. When you submit, you must be physically in Hong Kong, and your stay must be lawful.
3. Verification, and the first issue of a permanent identity card, are free of charge. Processing generally takes about 6 weeks.
4. If the limit of stay will expire while verification is under way, apply for an extension before it expires, so that you can wait for the result. Until permanent residence is approved, the visa still has to be extended in the ordinary way.
5. After approval, the condition of your stay in Hong Kong will be cancelled. A person aged 11 or above must go in person to a Registration of Persons Office to apply for the permanent identity card.
6. Section 3D of the Registration of Persons Ordinance (Cap. 177): if the registration officer refuses to issue a permanent identity card, you may appeal to the Registration of Persons Tribunal within 90 days of being notified. Whether a refusal at the verification stage can use this route directly depends on what the refusal notice says.

Records to start keeping before the 7 years are up

1. Keep an electronic copy and a paper copy of every e-Visa, extension label, and landing label.
2. Once a year, export your arrival and departure record, or keep your own note of the dates you travel, and mark the reason for each departure.
3. If you are continuously outside Hong Kong for more than 6 months, for example on a posting, for further study, or to care for family, keep proof of the reason.
4. Keep evidence of study, work, and residence in Hong Kong across the 7 years: school documents, employment contracts, Mandatory Provident Fund statements, salaries tax notices of assessment, the tenancy agreement and rates bills or water and electricity bills, and bank monthly statements.
5. Extend the visa on time before it expires. Avoid any day of overstaying.

Sources

• Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115), Schedule 1 and section 2
• Registration of Persons Ordinance (Cap. 177), section 3D
• Immigration Department, webpages on the right of abode in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (checked 18 October 2026)
• Immigration Department, ROP145, Application for Verification of Eligibility for a Permanent Identity Card (06/2024 edition), and the notes on completing the form, ROP145A
• Immigration Department, ROP146 declaration