Global Mobility is a major trend in the world’s current labor market, and the expertise of individuals is one of the key components of this trend. In this context, many regions are active in recruiting professionals they lack, and generally offer to foreign talents employment conditions that are at least as good as local conditions in order to fill the shortages.

While socioeconomic factors in Hong Kong in recent years have led some business sectors to enter a complete state of paralysis, some industries have benefited from the opportunities that arise from fluctuating markets. Despite the uncertain business environment, the city survives as one of the world's leading metropolises with excellent salaries and benefits, and a distant leader over other major Asian cities by a wide margin. As a result, the demand for professionals in Hong Kong remains high, and the demand for Hong Kong work visas from foreigners is unaffected.

For instance, in April 2021, as Citigroup moves to shed most of its consumer banking operations in 13 overseas markets, of which 10 are in Asia, it concurrently planned to recruit 1,100 private bankers, relationship managers and 1,200 technical and operational staffers in Hong Kong and Singapore as part of its strategic deployment of wealth centers in Hong Kong, London, United Arab Emirates and Singapore and its effort to scale up its asset under management for Asian clients. As its Hong Kong center will be dedicated to serving high net worth entrepreneurs and corporations in Asia, the hiring of local and imported expertise and talents will be vital.

“The SLS [Supplementary Labour Scheme] allows employers with genuine difficulties in finding suitable staff locally to import workers at technician level or below. However, to ensure the priority of local workers in employment and to safeguard their salaries and benefits, employers must accord priority to fill available job vacancies with local workers and make active efforts to train up local workers for the vacancies.” — Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS), Labour Department

This instruction means to set certain standards for the remuneration of foreign workers at technician level or below. Employers in Hong Kong must comply with the statutory provisions – including the Employment Ordinance, the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance and the Immigration Ordinance – and perform their responsibilities as employers in accordance with the employment contract and the SLS. As such, the remuneration provided to these workers should be higher or at least equivalent to the level offered to locals:

“Imported workers under the SLS are required to be paid at least median monthly wages of local workers in comparable positions and be accorded no less favourable treatment as that enjoyed by local workers under the labour laws. As the statutory minimum wage becomes effective on 1 May 2011, the amount of wages offered must be in compliance with the statutory minimum wage requirements. They are only allowed to work for the employers and in the positions with stipulated job duties, and for the duration of employment as stipulated under their employment contracts, and they must return to their place of origin on expiry of their contracts…An employer who wishes to continue employing imported workers upon the expiry of their contracts are required to submit an application afresh to the Labour Department, and the application will be considered on its own merits.” — Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS), Labour Department

In addition, employers who wish to recruit foreign workers need to fulfill the following 3 requirements:

1. Placing recruitment advertisements in local newspapers;
2. Posting local recruitment at the Labour Department compulsorily for a period of time; and
3. If necessary, organizing retraining programmes with the assistance of the Employees Retraining Board (ERB).

The SLS has stringent requirements for employers. Apart from showing recruitment records, conducting regular local recruitment, and arranging retraining for employees, employers are also required to provide proper accommodation for the foreign employees, guarantee their living expenses, and are responsible for the cost of the foreign employees’ return to their place of origin upon termination of the employment contract.

The employment visa application for Imported Workers under the SLS only fulfills half of the requirements for entering Hong Kong. The application must then be submitted to the IMMD and approved by two separate government departments before an entry visa can be issued.

The issued visa under the SLS does not allow foreign workers to bring along their accompanying relatives, nor to change employer. They are required to leave Hong Kong immediately upon completion of the contract unless the employer submits an extension of stay application to the department if they continue to meet the SLS requirements.

In sum, employing foreign workers is not exactly a way for employers to lower their costs. Not only should the employer go through multiple tedious procedures with two government departments, but the offered salaries must also meet the median of the labor market in Hong Kong, and the foreign worker must be provided with extra welfare. Instead, the work visa issued under the SLS is designed to encourage the hiring and the technical training of local workers, thereby enhancing their technical skills and competitiveness.

Beside visas and permits for technicians and low-skilled workers, the Hong Kong labour market has a strong appetite for skilled professionals and offers various types of work visas to foreign nationals through its General Employment Policy (GEP), Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP), Technology Talent Scheme (TechTAS), and Investment as Entrepreneurs. A work visa may also be issued to foreigners who come to Hong Kong for a Training.

Looking at the GEP and ASMTP closely, we find minimal differences between the two programs. They both aim at recruiting foreign professionals to fill the skills and expertise shortages among Hong Kong-based employers, and they have very similar eligibility criteria. The main distinction lies in the target applicant, who must be a Chinese resident of the Mainland China in the case of the ASMTP, and any other foreign nationals in the case of the GEP (with a few exceptions).

Because they are given such possibility of obtaining permanent residency, the eligibility criteria for both the employers and employees are also considerably higher. Only foreign nationals or mainlanders with proven skills, knowledge or experience that Hong Kong lacks may apply to work in Hong Kong as professionals under the GEP and ASMTP.

Specifically, if you decide to apply for an employment visa under the GEP or ASMTP, you must satisfy the following requirements:

1. No known serious criminal record and no security concerns;
2. Have a good educational background (usually bachelor’s degree or higher) or have good technical credentials, proof of professional competence, work experience with relevant professional qualifications, or achievements;
3. Evidence that the hiring company has a job vacancy;
4. Professional skills or qualifications that match the vacancy to be filled by the hiring company;
5. The remuneration package (including salary, bonus, accommodation, medical subsidies, meal allowance, etc.) offered by the employing company is commensurate with the Hong Kong labour market.

Applicants are required to provide supporting documents for each of the above conditions, namely:

1. Photocopy of a valid travel document;
2. Proof of academic qualifications;
3. Professional or technical licenses;
4. Proof of achievements, such as awards, certificates, etc.;
5. Employment records;
6. Curriculum Vitae;
7. Other documentation demonstrating work details, such as business portfolio.

The supporting documents requested from the Hong Kong hiring employer are more onerous:

1. Reasonably explain and demonstrate that the position is unfillable within the local labor market;
2. Evidence of the financial strength of the company;
3. Documentation showing the company’s background and status (e.g., business activities, operations, product lines, sources and markets, etc.).

For companies that have been established for less than 12 months, a detailed business plan (e.g., source of funds, capital investment, estimated turnover, turnover, gross profit, net profit, etc.) is required, together with the company structure and local hiring plan, etc. It is important to provide IMMD with a copy of all the documents used to establish the company (business registration, certification of incorporation, tax registration, etc.).

Alternatively, if a foreign national wishes to establish or join a business in Hong Kong and work for or be sponsored by that company, he or she may apply for a work visa under the “Investment as Entrepreneurs” program, which is a also under the administration of the GEP.