nixodian

l am British living in Hongkong with permanent residency as parents are from HKG, my spouse is from China who has right to live and work in HKG though not a permanent resident yet until 2021 where spouse has the right to get a HKSAR passport, so permanent residency.
However the HKSAR passport might not be required if the UK spouse visa allows the holder to travel to as many countries as a UK passport holder, albeit time restricted. as children, born in HKG with full British citizeship, plan to got to school in UK in 2020.
spouse currently holds a "Special Administrative region people's republic of china. Document of Identity for visa purposes"
hope this is clear, thanks for help!

christmasoompa

Hi, welcome to BE.

Having a spouse visa doesn't usually have a bearing on entry to other countries, as that's usually done on citizenship. For example, somebody with Pakistani citizenship would still need a visa to visit Canada even if they have a UK spouse visa - whereas a UK citizen can enter Canada without a visitor visa. But it does depend on the country, if you can be more specific as to the ones you are thinking of, then hopefully people can help.

nixodian

thanks for reply, well some countries of interest are Canada, Japan, Korea, Thailand and USA. Best just give me link where it shows you countries you can visit if spouse gets a uk spouse visa.

christmasoompa

There isn't a link that I'm aware of, but I think it'll be EU countries where there may be freedom of movement (for now at least!).

Certainly for Canada and the US, it's done by citizenship and a UK spouse visa will make no difference at all. No idea on Korea, Thailand or Japan I'm afraid, hopefully somebody else will know. If not, you'll have to just Google the visa requirements for those countries I guess.

Good luck.

BritInParis

Holding a UK spouse visa will have no bearing on whether your wife can enter another country visa-free. She would be treated the same as any other PRC passport holder. She’ll have to wait until 2021 and gain a HKSAR passport if she wishes to visit the countries you mentioned without a visa.

spouse of scouse

There is no link, and there doesn't need to be one. It's the passport your wife holds that will determine entry requirements to any country. Being on a spouse visa in the UK doesn't change that..

spouse of scouse

I've missed 'snapping' with you

BritInParis

Great minds

nixodian

thanks so much for info Britishexpats. all helpful and clarifying. appreciated