Where it all began

TRAILING SIDE-BY-SIDE SPOUSE

Becky Love recounts her journey to expat life in Hong Kong

Hong Kong was never on the cards for us. If someone had told me that I would one day be living overseas with my husband and son, I wouldn’t have believed them. Life was good in Australia. We owned our own home, had a fur baby, were recently married and both had steady jobs. Why leave a life that felt like a well oiled machine?

Because, I suppose, that’s exactly what it was. A machine. We’d get up, get dressed, drive the same route to work, drive home, cook dinner, watch Netflix and be at it again the next day. Sure, we were content and certainly not unhappy, but for a newly married couple, we didn’t want that to be our life just yet.

So in 2017, when the opportunity arose for my husband to fly for an airline in Hong Kong, we got the shake-up we didn’t realise we needed. We bid farewell to friends and family, packed up our life into cardboard boxes and began our expat journey.

Now, I had one condition for myself when making this move and it was to not end up a ‘Pilot’s wife’. Even the term ‘Trailing Spouse’ doesn’t sit right with me, because it implies I followed him over like an obedient little labrador. People told me that I would end up doing yoga and brunches with other pilot wives and that would be my new existence. As wonderful as that may sound, that’s not me. If I didn’t continue to chase what I had worked hard for, I would feel like I failed myself. I needed my own world in our new world, for both our sakes.

So I found my own group of friends, a full-time job and an ever-growing love for our incredible new home. We both worked hard, as expats in Hong Kong generally come here to do, but also spent time eating new and exciting foods and exploring everything from

HK

AUS

markets to mountains. I would head out to Wan Chai for girls nights while my husband would have drinks at the plaza. We would grab lunch by the beach together and take walks along the shore. It was perfect. It was different. It was us. Until two became three.

Yep, one year later, I fell pregnant and oh how things have changed yet again. Now it’s all about learning which pram can easily fold down on transport, where to buy baby supplies and making a mental note of every change room as I pass it.

Just as Hong Kong is transient and ever changing, so too is our life here. From new friends to new jobs, new hobbies, adventures and kids - we’ve learned to run with whatever life throws at us. And lucky for us, life has thrown us some pretty spectacular moments and memories - and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

IMMIGRATION AND VISAS

Although it depends on the passport you hold, most people are allowed to land and stay in Hong Kong as a visa-free visitor from seven to 180 days.

WORKING VISA

Unless you have a Hong Kong “Right of Abode” or “Right to Land”, you will need a visa to work in Hong Kong. Having your company sponsor and issue your visa (and any dependent visas for your family) before you arrive is the most efficient process. You are not legally entitled to work without a visa but you can land and then set about getting one. Expect the visa process to take about six to eight weeks.

DEPENDENT VISA AND TRAILING SPOUSES

Unless your spouse has a job in Hong Kong and a visa in his/her own right, dependent visas are a must for your spouse and children under the age of 18 to be able to live full-time in Hong Kong. Holding a dependent visa allows your spouse to find a job and work without being tied to one sponsoring company.