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Guidebook for Entry for Employment as Imported Workers in Hong Kong

I. Introduction

This guidebook sets out the entry arrangement for persons who wish to enter the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) for employment as imported workers under the Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS).

2. The SLS is implemented in the HKSAR to handle applications for importation of labour at technician level or below. Administered by the Labour Department of the HKSAR, it allows employers with genuine difficulties in finding suitable employees locally to import workers from outside the HKSAR.

3. Employers intending to import workers under the SLS need to first apply to the SLS Application Office of the Labour Department for approval-in-principle. Subject to the grant of approval-in-principle, employers shall arrange for their prospective workers to each submit a visa/entry permit application to the Immigration Department within three months from the date of issue of the approval-in-principle letter. The approval-in-principle will automatically lapse if the visa/entry permit application is not submitted on time.

4. Imported workers admitted under this arrangement are not allowed to bring in their dependants.

5. This entry arrangement does not apply to nationals of Afghanistan, Albania, Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, Korea (Democratic People's Republic of), Nepal and Vietnam.

II. Eligibility Criteria

6. An application for a visa/entry permit to enter the HKSAR for employment as imported workers under the SLS may be favourably considered if:

1. the applicant is suitably qualified and experienced for the job in question;
2. the terms and conditions of employment are comparable to those in the local market;
3. the applicant will remain under the direct employment of the employer for a specific job and will not be contracted out to other companies or sub-contractors;
4. there is no adverse record to the detriment of the applicant and the employer; and
5. the employer is financially capable of employing the applicant, providing him/her with suitable accommodation and of guaranteeing his/her maintenance and repatriation upon termination of his/her contract.

III. Application Procedures

Application Forms

7. Applicant should complete application form (ID 1001A). The employer should complete application form (ID 1001B). The application forms (ID 1001A and ID 1001B) can be obtained free of charge from the following offices:

1. Immigration Department Headquarters.
2. Immigration Branch Offices.

The forms can also be downloaded from the Immigration Department's website at www.immd.gov.hk.

Supporting Documents

8. Please refer to the checklist at Part VII.

Submission of Application

9. All the forms must be duly completed and signed. Completed application forms, i.e. ID 1001A and ID 1001B, and all supporting documents should be submitted by the applicant by post directly or through the employer in the HKSAR to:

10. The employer should enter into a standard employment contract with the applicant. The contract terms will be for a maximum period as specified in the approval-in-principle letter, the longest being 24 months. Standard employment contract (LD 294) should be completed in quadruplicate and submitted together with the application forms (ID 1001A and ID 1001B) to the Immigration Department. Standard employment contract (LD 294) can be obtained free of charge from the Immigration Department Headquarters.

11. For Mainland Chinese workers wishing to come to work in the HKSAR under the SLS, applications must be submitted to the Immigration Department through their prospective employers. Direct applications by the Mainland Chinese workers are not accepted.

IV. Travel Documentation Requirement

12. Visa/Entry permit label will be issued upon successful application which will be collected by the employer from the Immigration Department for onward transmission to the successful applicant. The visa/entry permit label should be affixed onto a blank visa page of the applicant's travel document for presentation to the immigration officer upon arrival in the HKSAR.

13. Successful applicant who is a Chinese resident of the Mainland should apply for an Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao (EEP) and a relevant exit endorsement from the Public Security Bureau office where his/her household registration is kept. The entry permit label should be affixed onto a blank endorsement page of the applicant's EEP on which his/her relevant exit endorsement has been obtained. The applicant should present the EEP for immigration examination upon arrival in the HKSAR.

V. Extension of Stay

14. An imported worker may apply for extension of stay to work in the HKSAR within 4 weeks before the limit of stay expires for completion of the employment contract. Such application will be considered only when the applicant continues to meet the eligibility criteria for entry for employment as imported workers.

VI. Other Information

15. In general, unless a person has the right of abode or right to land in the HKSAR, he/she requires a visa/entry permit to work in the HKSAR. While each application is determined on its individual merits, an applicant should meet normal immigration requirements (such as holding a valid travel document with adequate returnability to his/her country of residence or citizenship; be of clear criminal record and raise no security or criminal concerns to the HKSAR; have no likelihood of becoming a burden on the HKSAR, etc.) as well as the relevant specific eligibility criteria detailed above before he/she may be considered for the grant of a visa/entry permit. It should be noted that the eligibility criteria may be subject to change from time to time.

Levy

16. Successful employers are required to pay a levy that goes to the Employees Retraining Board to augment the provision of training or retraining for local workers who are vulnerable in the economic restructuring process to changing their employment. The levy payable in a lump sum in respect of each imported worker is HK$400 multiplied by the number of months covered by the employment contract up to a maximum of 24 months. It will be collected after the approval for importing workers and before the issue of visa/entry permit as directed by the Director of Immigration. The levy paid is not refundable under any circumstances.

(Note: Starting from 1 August 2008, employers of imported workers are not required to pay the levy if the visas/entry permits for the imported workers are granted by the Immigration Department between 1 August 2008 and 31 July 2013.)

Conditions of Stay

17. After entry, the imported worker must remain under the direct employment of the same employer for the specified job and in the specific workplace(s) as stipulated in the standard employment contract (LD 294) and cannot be contracted out to other companies/sub-contractors. Change of employer or post is not permitted.

18. The imported worker is required to return to his/her place of origin on completion of his/her employment contract. If the contract is pre-maturely terminated, the worker is only permitted to remain in the HKSAR for two weeks from the date of termination of contract or the balance of permitted stay, whichever is shorter.

Termination of Contract prior to its Expiry

19. The employer or the imported worker may terminate the employment contract prior to its expiry by giving to the other party notice in writing or wages in lieu of notice as stipulated in the employment contract. The employer shall send a copy of the termination letter to the Labour Department (Fax number: 2542 2742) and to the Quality Migrants and Mainland Residents Section of the Immigration Department (Fax number: 2824 2067) within seven days before the date of termination. If the contract is terminated without prior notice, the employer shall send a copy of the termination letter to the above two departments within one working day after the termination. The letter should bear the name of the imported worker in English and Chinese (if applicable), his/her Hong Kong identity card number, the date of termination and the application reference number of the Immigration Department.

Re-entry into Hong Kong

20. Non-permanent residents of the HKSAR, irrespective of their nationality and type of travel document held, do not require a re-entry visa/entry permit to enter the HKSAR provided that they return within their valid limit of stay and that the circumstances upon which they have acquired their residential status remain unchanged.

Payment of Fees

Processing Time

22. It will normally take six weeks to process a visa/entry permit application for employment as an imported worker upon receipt of all the required documents. The Immigration Department would not be able to start processing the application unless all the required documents and information are received. Please refrain from making enquiries about the progress of the application unless it is absolutely necessary, as it may delay the processing of the application.

Warning

24. It is an offence to make false statements or representations to an immigration officer. A person who knowingly and wilfully makes a statement or gives information which he/she knows to be false or does not believe to be true shall be guilty of an offence under the Laws of Hong Kong and any such visa/entry permit issued or permission to enter or remain in the HKSAR granted shall have no effect.

Disclaimer

Enquiries

VII. Checklist of Forms and Documents to be Submitted

(A) Forms and Documents to be Submitted by the Applicants

(B) Forms and Documents to be Submitted by the Employers

Important Notice:

1. Notwithstanding that the documents and information required have been furnished, applicants and employers may still be required to submit further supporting documents and information in connection with the application when necessary.
2. Where a document is not in Chinese or English, it must be accompanied by a Chinese or English translation certified as a true translation by a sworn translator, court translator, authorized public translator, certified translator, expert translator or official translator.