Why this mainland Chinese man chose Hong Kong residency (and why his wife didn’t)
Gao Yuan and Yu Duo no longer live in the city, which he thought friendly and safe, but she found unwelcoming
Security software developer Gao Yuan, 32, had little hesitation when he applied for permanent residency in Hong Kong in 2012, after seven years of study and work. He found Hong Kong a “friendly” and “safe” home.
But four years later, his wife Yu Duo, 26, who came to Hong Kong to study in 2014, chose not to apply for residency when she graduated with a master’s degree from City University. Yu said she did not find Hong Kong “amiable”.
Gao and Yu, who married in Hong Kong in 2016, both benefited from a city government programme helping non-local graduates work, and gain right of abode, in the city. Upon their graduation – in 2008 and 2015, respectively – the government granted them a special visa under the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG).
Successful applicants are granted a year’s unconditional stay in Hong Kong after graduation. If after that year they are stably employed, they can apply for a two-year extension, with further extensions available after that. They can apply for the right of abode after seven years – including time spent studying.
It took Gao, a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang province, two renewals to reach seven years. It would have taken Yu three to reach the same point, had she not given up the chance when it was time to apply for the first renewal in 2016.