Does anyone know anything about student visas?

[Yourownpersonaljesus]

My daughter needs to apply for a student visa as she is studying in Hong Kong for a semester (as part of her degree). She needs a copy of my passport and proof that I can support her financially. The problem is that I don't have a passport as I haven't been aboard for ten years. Would her grandmother be able to supply these documents instead? I have tried contacting her university and Hong Kong immigration (as has my daughter) but have not had any joy so far. I was wondering if anyone has been in the same situation.

Just bumping.

No personal experience, sorry, but the Hong Kong government website would be a good starting point.

I don't want to sound negative or goady but it's not a destination I'd consider for my DS in the current political climate.

Thanks @Boyskeepswinging. I did already look on the HK government website and this is what I found:

One of the applicant's parents should authorise the sponsor or his/her relative/friend in Hong Kong to be the guardian of the applicant. A consent letter duly signed by both the guardian and one of the applicant's parents should be produced. [if the applicant is under the age of 18]

It's still not that clear and doesn't answer the question of whether someone else can provide the documents. Do you think the part in brackets applies to all of it or just the last sentence. My daughter is 20 and will be 21 when she goes.
I am worried about her going but her university have said it is still going ahead and at her age I can't tell her not to go.

Your daughter needs to go and speak (in person) with someone at her university and ask for help in completing the visa process.

FWIW I would expect the second sentence to only apply to under 18s. I assume the sponsor in this equation is the university.

But I am no expert and the university will have helped with this many times before so your daughter needs to go and ask.

It says one of her parents. Does her dad have a passport? Could you renew your passport?

Just get a passport? Seems to be simplest solution. They are cheap in U.K. only £70 or so. Besides you might want to visit your daughter while she is there...

How is she being supported financially while she is there?

Have you tried the Chinese embassy in London? The embassies issue the visas not the immigration people in HK.

I dont see anything on the Hong Kong details that say they need your passport details

Look OP, London has a China Visa Application Centre. That is who I’d ask
bio.visaforchina.org/LON2_EN/

Thank you. She has spoken to the person who deals with this at her university and they are not helpful at all. It was her university that said to contact HK immigration. I even called the department myself as I thought my daughter wasn't asking the questions that she needed to but that wasn't the case. Both me and my DD have emailed HK immigration but only received automated replies stating that they have received the email.

I’d read that as if the requirements only apply to under 18s.

If she has any friends on the same programme it might help to ask them if they’re supplying this but really she should speak to the university for clarification.

I don't have a spare £70 as I will be supporting her. I definitely won't be able to afford to visit her there unfortunately. She has a small amount of money saved up from her pt job too. Her grandmother is the only person in the family who has a valid passport. Thanks everyone for your replies. I'll call the Chinese Embassy tomorrow.

Where are you getting the info that your passport details are required?

Yeah, HK is Chinese now, so that’s where you need to ask. Whoever told you to contact HK immigration is an idiot. You’d only contact them if applying for a visa from within HK (if your daughter is already there and wanting to extend or renew a visa).
One of the functions of embassies within countries is to issue visas to locals who want to visit the embassy’s country.

Good luck!

www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/study.html#secondTab

Op you can email them.
[email protected]

This is not a company, this is the actual visa center for the Chinese embassy.

I did a bit of reading and the passport of parent only applies to under 18s going on student visas.

My daughter said that I need to provide my passport details, though looking at the link @DoctorAllcome provided above it looks like she may be wrong. The person in the Study Abroad dept at DD's university told me to contact HK immigration. She wasn't helpful at all and a bit stroppy to be honest! Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to reply.

And I dont think the China visa website will work as Hong Kong and China have different entry requirements/visas

Says this online:

AlthoughHong Kongis a part ofChina, as a Special Administrative Region (SAR), it has its own entry regulations. This means the normalChinese visadoes not work forHong Kongand vice versa.

www.chinese-embassy.org.uk/eng/visa/qzxz/t1651889.htm this is a useful page with contact details

Thank you so much @dementedpixie.

Am I the only person who is concerned that the Uni is being "stroppy" and clearly very unhelpful and appears to have no qualms about sending students to HK given the current situation out there?

If they're not being helpful now what happens if your DD needs support when she's out there (which, given what's going on is more than likely)?

I know she's technically an adult but if you're having to wade in to sort out her visa for her this really doesn't bode well for her being left with no support in a country with a huge amount of political unrest.

The visa centre issues visas for all Chinese regions like Mainland China, Macao and Hong Kong. So while you’re right a China mainland visa would not work for HK, since the centre does more than China mainland visas, the website I gave will absolutely “work”

I work with international students coming into the UK who require visas. We are legally not allowed to give any visa advice and if we do and are wrong are personally liable. Obviously we can be helpful to a point, but can’t be all that helpful. Maybe the woman at the Uni wasn’t being stroppy but was thinking of that? Although I don’t know if the same applies to helping UK students get other country Visas. (We won’t do more than write a proof is study letter for any of our students who apply for visas to visit other countries while in the UK) I do know that we have the absolute shit scared out of us when we attend Visa training or conferences about our liability and if I wasn’t sure of my liabilities, I wouldn’t be all that helpful either.