Batgung - Jobs and visas

immigration procedure for an additional part time job in Hong Kong

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:19:50 +0000

Presently I'm working in Hong Kong as a full time staff at Hong Kong PolyU. I want to know about the procedure to follow for the immigration clearance, if I plan to take an additional part time job in the University.

Working Visa's & Employment Situation in HK

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:54:52 +0000

Hi everyone,

First off, I just wanted to say thanks for posting all of this information on obtaining a working visa. This site has become a valuable resource for me. Now that we’re almost a quarter into 2009, I was wondering what the job market is like in HK. Given the fact that we’re in a global recession, are expatriates experiencing greater difficulty in finding employment in HK?

I’ve been to HK many times and would really like to move there. I was planning on moving to HK in Dec 2009, however, with all of this uncertainty in our economy, I’m not exactly sure if it’s the right time to make this change in my life.

Here’s a bit of information about my background and qualifications:

I’m 25 years old, a Canadian citizen of Chinese descent, born and raised in Canada. I have a Bachelors degree in Business Administration and I’ve been working as a Marketing Analyst for a well-branded multinational company in the automotive industry (no office in HK though) for about 3 years. My work mostly consists of statistical data analysis, analyzing market trends etc. I’m quite happy with my career path and hope to continue to advance my career in marketing. I also speak fluent English and Cantonese; can speak conversational mandarin and understand the whole language; I can also read Chinese (but not write).

I guess based on this brief background, what are my chances of obtaining a working visa?

I understand that no one here is an immigration expert, but your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Vince

Advice much appreciated re moving to/working in Hong Kong!

Goku28 — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:35:36 +0000

Hi all, I've just joined the site as I've been admiring it as a source of info for someone who loves Hong Kong for some time!

My wife and I have now been on holiday to Hong Kong three times - once in 2001, once in 2003, and more recently in October 2008. We are now seriously considering moving out to Hong Kong to live and work. Our idea is to move out there for 12 months as a trial period, then to make a decision as to whether we move there permanently, depending on how the first year goes. I'm really after some initial advice on whether this is a realistic idea and how we would go about preparing to make the dream a reality.

For information, my wife currently works as a systems integration developer (so IT based - asp.net development etc). She is also a qualified UAT tester.

I on the other hand am an Operations Manager for a large insurance company. The company I work for is a global one and I know there are offices based in HK, so it seems to make sense for me to try and get my employer to sponsor me and have my wife as a dependent.

My concern is that as far as academic qualifications are concerned, I'm not too great - gcse's and a couple of pretty poor A-level results. I do however have some recognised professional qualifications including Certificate in Financial Planning 1 and Investment Administration Qualification. I've been managing people in the financial services industry for around 6 years.

So - initial thoughts folks? We literally only decided this yesterday over some dim sum in Maxi's (pretty sure that influenced our thinking!).

Thanks in advance!

Your first job in Hong Kong

batgungAdmin — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:00:00 +0000

How did you get your first job in HongKong?

Some of the most popular pages on our site are about finding work in Hong Kong. So if you didn't already have a permanent Hong Kong ID before you started working in Hong Kong, how did you find your first job and visa? We're hoping your stories will help others who are looking for ways to move to Hong Kong.

MrB's story

I arrived in 1989, and at that time UK passport holders didn't need a visa to work, so that was half the battle won. I was certain that I wanted to work here for several months at least, so after a few nights in Chung King Mansions I rented a room in a flat in TST, shared with two others. That cut accomodation expenses and gave a fixed address and phone number for job applications. I guess today's equivalent would be to get a local mobile phone number as soon as you arrive.

It took longer than expected to find work. I had 4-5 years work experience in computer programming, but it was of a low-level technical style, whereas all the local adverts seemed to be for business-related programming work. I sent out lots of applications to adverts in the Saturday SCMP, but didn't get one reply. None of the agencies I applied to turned up anything either. I do wonder if asking for my UK salary was pricing me out of the opportunities available. Really I'd have been happy with any work, and would probably have been better off writing something vague along the lines of 'in line with my abilities' when they asked for an expected salary.

In the end I found work with a small local development company run by expats. I went to one of the big computer shows in Hong Kong, and approached likely-looking booths asking if they were looking for my kind of skills. One of them gave me a contact of their technical manager, I met him for lunch, he turned me down, I called back and said he was making a mistake, and I got work with them.

So I definitely had to be more pushy and proactive than I was used to in the UK. In hindsight I should also have been quicker to look for more social occasions where I could meet new people - sports clubs, language classes, etc - and get the message out I was looking for work.

Also looking back, it has made for a disjointed 'career'. If I'd stayed in the UK, I guess by now I'd be some working in some technical development role, and would have gained a lot of knowledge in some speciality. So it would have been a more straightforward career path.

Instead I've usually been driven by wanting to live here first, and finding something that would pay the bills second. That first job I got here was still fairly similar to what I'd been doing in the UK, but then I worked in Australia for a few months as contract IT helpdesk staff. Back to the UK for a few months doing some business programming, then back to Hong Kong again where I ended up in a sales role. Not something I would have chosen naturally, but in the end it has all worked out ok.

Mr Tall's story

I had quite a different path to employment from MrB.

I 'worked' in Hong Kong for the first time in the summer of 1988 as a volunteer, teaching English to secondary school kids in a church-sponsored summer program. I stayed for about six weeks that time, if I recall correctly, and did the whole thing on a tourist visa. I believe I did have to leave and re-enter Hong Kong once, since then as now tourists could stay for just a month at a time.

I returned two years later, in the summer of 1990, having done a desultory couple of years in grad school in the USA. The main payoff to my study, in retrospect, was the entree it gave me to Hong Kong. I wandered into my university's student exchange office one day, looking for excuses to avoid both further graduate study and gainful employment. I'd enjoyed my previous summer experience in Hong Kong, so I was delighted to see that the first post listed as available for grad students was a 'teaching fellowship' set up as a kind of permanent exchange with Chinese University. I applied immediately, hopped up and down for a while waiting to hear if I'd got it, and then was delighted when it came through. (I found out later on I was the only applicant!)

I therefore had an extraordinarily easy transition into expat life. I had accommodation provided (a flat on campus shared with a couple of other American teachers), CU took care of getting me a work visa, and I had a ready-made peer group all set. The teaching load was light, so I had time to travel, too. The only downside was that it paid very badly, but I was young and didn't really have to care.

I started caring about the cash a lot more at the end of my two years at CU, however! By then, I'd met, and been hopelessly enamored with, the future Mrs Tall (she was a CU student, but not one I taught. We actually had our first date during her final week at CU -- thank goodness she didn't get away!). I knew I needed to stay in Hong Kong. But there was no chance of me staying on at CU, so it was out on the job market for me, this time needing enough money to pay my own way in full.

I didn't have to look for long. I found an editing job with another university, and that led to my current position. Again, I had a big institution supporting my visa applications, so I didn't have much trouble getting new ones.

Since MrB has done a bit of 'what if?' speculation above, I'll indulge myself as well. I think if I'd have stayed in the USA, I'd very likely have gone back to grad school and slogged it out to the bitter end, i.e. either a PhD or total ignominious defeat. Looking back, I have no regrets whatever on missing out on this scene!

How about you? How did you get to Hong Kong?

Chances of Getting a Work Visa

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:37:03 +0000

I have recently been offered a job in Hong Kong in a medium-sized company with branches in Asia and consisting of mainly expats. They are now in the midst of applying for my work visa. I do not have prior work experience in the field however I had more than 5 years of working experience. I only hold a Diploma in Business but had working experience in Asia and China. However, I do hold some certificates on Finance which is the industry I'll be working for. Although I understand language is not the main issue here but I do speak fluent English, Mandarin and Cantonese. What are the chances of getting a visa?

Applying for HK Working Visa

tlucker — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:24:59 +0000

Hi,

I am a British Passport holder currently working in London and I have been asked to think about a position with my organisation in HK - the idea of this excites me very much, however I have tried to do some research about applying for working visas in HK, not for me, but my fiancee and I'm not sure things are in our favour.

Ultimately, whether I decide to look further onto this 'job offer' will very much depend on whether my fiancee can come with me without too much hassle. We plan to get married in February 2010, have been living together for 12 months and she is a New Zealand passport holder.

As she is not technically a spouse and I am the one with the 'job offer' and therefore thesponsorship of a working visa so, a.) what process, if any, does she need to go through to get a working visa and b.) if this is possible, how likely is it that she obtains the visa?

Thanks in advance for any help on this as I'm looking to put my mind at rest either way, once and for all.

Kind regards,

Tom

Changing Jobs in HK

Mon, 19 May 2008 17:39:58 +0000

Hi, I have a working visa and am currently working in HK.

My question is, how easy is it to get another job, (or is that a silly question)
I think I mean that given that I've already 'proved' I'm employable under immigration rules etc then is it easier to get another job

Getting a Job in HK

Sun, 18 May 2008 10:09:06 +0000

I am a 26 year old Chartered Accountant from Melbourne Australia looking to move to Hong Kong and work.

I dont have a HK ID as my parents were already naturalised in Australia at the time of my birth so i will have to look for a company to sponsor my visa.

Im having a little difficulty at the moment as most recruitment agencies i am dealing with aren't really considering me as i am not in the country or they think its too much of a logistical hassle for them.

As the recruiters aren't really helping me at the moment im not sure whether i should:

a - resign from my current employer, come to Hong Kong on a holiday visa and do an intensive employment search (seems pretty risky)

b - tell my work that i want to take a few weeks off and come to HK and try to get a job.

Just wanted to see if anyone had any advice on which option is better or if you have heard of any other stories in your travels on how people from Australia, or other parts of the world get a job in Hong Kong whilst still living overseas..

any advice would be great!

Help wanted please.

dave harris — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 22:36:02 +0000

Hello,

My name is David Harris and in a few months l will be going to Hong Kong for a holiday.I have never been before but am drawn there more than any other place.

I would like to find a job out there and stay for a long time.At present l run a chemical tanker depot in Manchester,England which repairs and cleans out the tankers.I have run this deot for over a year now but want a change and just moving to the next company does not really interest me.If l am to make a change it has to be big...and so here l am...looking at this site,my first one,for some advice.

I am 37,healthy,single and own my own house so would have around £30k to play with if l sold it.I would be looking for something to do with tankers (repairs,testing etc) as this has been my main job for about 13 years and l am very good at it.I don't have a degree or any qualifications just experience.With this l am able to turn my hand to most things.So if there were other jobs not in this area l would still be interested.

Any advice will be gratefully received.

Thank you

Dave

What do you do?

mrb — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 01:00:00 +0000

I don’t have a job.

And it’s ok, really.

There’s the money-worry of course. But I thoroughly recommend marrying someone smarter than yourself as a way around that. MrsB enjoys her work, is very good at what she does, and is reasonably well paid. Plus we don’t live very expensively, so according to my “When do I need to go back to work” spreadsheet, we’re not likely to starve any time soon.

Then there’s the relationship worry. Will MrsB feel it’s unfair, or just plain wrong that she’s working and I’m not? She always says that as long as we don’t have to worry about money (consult spreadsheet), and I’m not being lazy, she’s fine with it.

What other worries are there? I wonder about our girls, and whether it will give them a strange view of working if I’m not. Oh, and there’s a more immediate worry about how we fill in the primary school application forms next year! Mr Tall has just been going through this, and has said “Father’s employer and position” are usually some of the first questions asked on the form. I guess “consultant” is always a good cover.

And finally I get less employable as time goes by. If I discover some drastic + / - mixup in the spreadsheet, or a couple of company failures wipe out our stockmarket savings, I’ll need to find work. That’ll definitely be harder as the out-of-work gap gets longer, and I lose touch with the work I did previously.

But really I don’t miss the work I was doing. I occasionally miss some of the perks, like traveling overseas to interesting places and staying at nice hotels, or the frequent-flyer card that meant easy check-in at holiday time. But then I worked out that to get the card you have to fly at least 60,000 miles a year. That means around 120 hours in the sky, or five whole days. Not something I treasure.

I value the time with our children too, especially while they are so young. I’m no saint – we employ a helper to look after the girls during the weekdays – but I still see a lot more of them than I did before. When our older daughter was a baby, I’d be away for a week or two each month. Now I’m here all the time I don’t get the post-trip ‘daddy’s home!’ special attention, but I think that overall our relationship is better.

I also have more time to do what I want. Funnily enough that takes work! I have to step outside and have a word with myself now and again if I’m falling into couch potato mode. But generally, keeping busy isn’t a problem. A typical week is some mix of volunteer work, learning Tai Chi again, time with the girls, and trying not to lose money on the stockmarket!

I’m lucky things have worked out this way, but in general it’s not something I mention to many people. If I'm meeting new people and get asked the inevitable “So what do you do?” question, I’m likely to give some vague “working from home” answer. Although I feel good about the answer “I’m out of work”, the person hearing it often takes it a sign of a problem. Why is that?

Maybe because it’s rare to meet unemployed expats here? Expats need a visa to live here, and it’s usually an employment visa. ie you’re here to do a job. If you want to be unemployed that’s fine, just go and do it in your own country!!

Or is it that locally there is still a strong traditional view that men should be the bread-winner? Perhaps combined with the idea you can never have too much money (ie if you can be working, why aren’t you?).

Any other ideas? Until that reaction changes I don’t see the idea of work-life balance will be given much attention in Hong Kong.

Regards,

The gainfully unemployed MrB