The Hong Kong Department of Labour and Immigration has established eligibility requirements for employers based on employment and income status. If they cannot meet any of the criteria, visa applications from their aides will not be approved. In addition to legal requirements, understanding and friendliness are also an essential characteristic of a good employer. In addition to the requirement that the humanitarian worker meet normal immigration requirements (e.g. possession of a valid travel document with sufficient capacity to return to their country of residence or citizenship; have a well-established criminal record and have no security or criminal concerns about the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is not likely to become a burden on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, etc.), the Director of Immigration will consider the following offences/violations when considering a future application of an assistant for a work visa or for an extension of stay in the HKSAR And such a future application is usually not approved: Each employment agency has its own candidates that employers can select, and they take care of everything from selecting candidates for you to processing documents for the domestic help visa. However, an employment agency will usually only present you with a small pool of candidates, who may not really meet your needs. In addition, candidates` skills may differ from what your agent has told you. In addition, not all agencies offer the same services, their prices may be different and sometimes they may even impose high placement fees on the domestic help or force the domestic help to take out a loan to repay the recruitment costs, knowing that employment agencies in Hong Kong are only allowed to charge the domestic help a maximum of 10% of their first month`s salary. If you want to make sure your domestic help hasn`t been forced by an unethical employment agency to sign their contract with you, use HelperChoice as an alternative resource. HelperChoice doesn`t charge any fees to domestic helpers, so you can be sure it`s free from slavery. The visa system for foreign aid workers in Hong Kong does not apply to Chinese residents of the mainland, Macau and Taiwan, as well as nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba, Laos, Korea (Democratic People`s Republic), Nepal and Vietnam.
The Hong Kong Immigration Department does not set minimum age or gender limits for foreign domestic workers. However, their home country has its own requirements for nationals who wish to work abroad as domestic help. For example, a Filipino citizen must be at least 23 years old if they apply to be a foreign worker. These are the requirements set by the Director of Immigration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The employer is advised to check with the relevant consulate in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the latest employment and immigration requirements and guidelines that may affect the employment of the humanitarian worker in the HKSAR before submitting contracts to the Director of Immigration in support of the assistant`s visa application. A volunteer must be in possession of a valid visa before travelling to the HKSAR. The issuance of a visa to the individual carer is subject to compliance with normal immigration requirements (e.g. possession of a valid travel document with sufficient capacity to return to his/her country of residence or citizenship; having a clear criminal record and not raising security or criminal concerns about the HKSAR; has no likelihood of becoming a burden on the HKSAR; etc.). Employers who meet the above criteria should not assume that their assistant`s visa application will be automatically approved.
Not everyone who wants to hire a foreign domestic help is able to do so, there are certain legal requirements. The Immigration Department will only issue a domestic help visa if the employer is a Hong Kong resident, holds a Hong Kong ID card and has a monthly household income of more than HK$15,000. If the monthly income is lower, the domestic worker`s employer must prove that they have assets of at least HK$180,000. If the monthly household income is suddenly less than HK$15,000, the Immigration Department must be notified and the domestic help may have to be dismissed. The Employment Ordinance 2022 will enter into force on 17 June 2022. The amending Regulation aims to strengthen the protection of workers` rights and benefits when they are absent from work due to compliance with specific anti-outbreak requirements and to encourage employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. For more information, see: www.labour.gov.hk/eng/news/EAO2022.htm Domestic help employers in Hong Kong are required to provide free medical treatment to their domestic workers during the period of employment. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you take out assistance insurance that meets the requirements of the Employee Compensation Ordinance and is fully covered.
If the EV is applicable, an employer must provide the eligible HDF with sick leave and sick pay under the EV if the HDF becomes ill. If a sick HDF has not accumulated enough paid sick days to cover the duration of their sick leave, the government calls on the employer to show compassion and consider granting the HDF paid sick leave. In addition, employers should provide free and appropriate housing and free medical treatment to their FDH in accordance with SEC requirements. The Ministry of Labor (LD) today (24 February) reminded employers that they should not fire foreign domestic workers (FDHs) who have contracted COVID-19 and continue to comply with the requirements of the Employment Ordinance (EO) and Standard Employment Contract (SEC) amid the pandemic. Direct hiring means that the employer finds a domestic help candidate with their own resources, such as friend references, and only uses an employment agency to process the work visa. In terms of autonomy, direct hiring gives you more freedom to choose the worker you like. We advise all employers to find domestic help themselves and to hire only an employment agency to process the documents. This way, you`ll make sure you find the right housekeeper ethically. With HelperChoice, you have control over the selection and interview of domestic helpers.
Go through the profiles of domestic helpers, make a selection of candidates who meet your requirements, and after the first contact, you can decide who you want to interview. Once you have interviewed all your applicants and decided who is the right candidate for you, you will need to complete the standard employment contract provided by the Hong Kong Immigration Department. In some cases, you may not be able to complete the paperwork yourself and may need to hire an employment agency. An LD spokesperson said: “Employers employing HDFs should comply with their obligations and requirements under the EO and SEC. We would like to remind employers that they should not terminate an employment contract because the HDF is sick with COVID-19. Under the decree, an employer is prohibited from terminating an employee`s employment contract on the day of paid sick leave, except in the case of immediate dismissal for serious misconduct. An employer who contravenes the relevant provisions of the EV commits a criminal offence and will be prosecuted and, if convicted, will be fined up to $100,000. If an employer has violated the EV, they will not be considered eligible to employ an HDF for a period of time and their applications for the HDF visa will be rejected. Employers are also reminded that they may breach the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO) if they treat their HRDs less favourably (e.g.
by dismissing them) because the HDDs are infected with COVID-19 or have recovered. “Aides who wish to renew their employment contract with their existing employers after the existing contract has completed its full 2-year course must submit new applications to the Immigration Department and the application is usually accepted within eight weeks of the expiry of the existing contract. An LD spokesperson said: “HDFs coming to Hong Kong to work from 26 September will be subject to the revised `0+3` entry control regime, i.e. they do not have to quarantine in hotels upon arrival and are only subject to medical surveillance for three days, followed by self-monitoring for four days. You will undergo several tests during the medical surveillance period and the four-day monitoring period that will follow.