Ready to apply?
Hawksford supports businesses and their families with Hong Kong and Mainland China applications for visas and residence status.
Hong Kong has a special work permit scheme for hiring skilled foreign employees called Employment for Professionals. This article provides details about eligibility requirements, application procedure, processing timeline, and other relevant information about Employment for Professionals work permit scheme.
Eligible applicants must have good educational qualifications and possess special skills, knowledge or experience of value to and not readily available in the Hong Kong in order to obtain Hong Kong employment visa.
There is no quota system limiting the number of Hong Kong work visas under this scheme. Each application is assessed based on the qualifications of the applicant and the employing company.
This type of work permit is normally issued for one year period initially and renewable thereafter.
If you are an entrepreneur who wishes to relocate to Hong Kong to start your own business, you should refer to Hong Kong’s Entrepreneur Visa Scheme instead.
For an overview of the various available migration schemes, refer to Overview of Hong Kong Visa Schemes.
In order to apply for work permit under the employment for professionals scheme, the following eligibility requirements apply:
Documents required from the work permit applicant:
Hawksford supports businesses and their families with Hong Kong and Mainland China applications for visas and residence status.
Documents required from the employing company:
Note:
The above mentioned company documents (except for the application form for employing professionals) need not be submitted by the employing company if it had successfully obtained an employment or training visa/entry permit for a non-local staff in the past 18 months immediately before submission of the application.
All documents submitted must be in English or Chinese or translated into English or Chinese by a certified translation body.
The Immigration authorities reserve the right to demand further documents from the applicant or employing company as and when necessary.
Once both the applicant and the employer have prepared the necessary documents required for the work permit application, the application must be submitted to the Hong Kong Immigration Department via post.
The processing of work visa application takes about 2-3 months.
If the application is successful, the Immigration Department will issue a Visa/Entry Permit label which must be collected from the immigration office in-person by the applicant or an authorized representative. The Visa/Entry Permit label must be affixed on a blank visa page of the applicant’s passport and presented to the Immigration Officer upon arrival in Hong Kong.
Most work permit visas issued initially are valid for one-year period.
In case the work permit application is rejected, an appeal can be filed with authorities.
Use the + button to get guidance on other factors you may need to consider:
Work permit holders can apply for renewal by filing the renewal application at least four weeks before the limit of stay expires. The renewal application will be considered only if the applicant continues to meet the work permit eligibility criteria as outlined above. If the work visa renewal application is approved, the extension of stay will normally follow the 2 to 2-3 years pattern or in accordance with the duration of your employment contract, whichever is shorter.
Under the employment for professionals scheme, the work permit issued is tied to a specific employer and is not transferable. In order to change jobs, the applicant must obtain first approval by filing “Application for Change of Employment” with the Immigration Department. Upon approval, the applicant must surrender his/her existing work permit and collect the new one.
Applicants under this work permit scheme are eligible to bring their family members (spouse and unmarried dependent children under 18 years of age to Hong Kong) with them to Hong Kong. A dependant visa application must be filed for each family member for this purpose. The dependant’s length of stay is tied to the applicant’s length of stay in Hong Kong and dependant visa holders are free to take up employment or study in Hong Kong, as applicable. For further details on dependent visa, refer to Hong Kong Family Visa guide.
If you have been granted a work visa under the employment for professionals scheme and you have resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of at least seven years, you are eligible to apply for Permanent Residence, commonly referred to as “Right of Abode” in Hong Kong. The application is subject to satisfying the requisite criteria.
Hawksford supports businesses and their families with Hong Kong and Mainland China applications for visas and residence status.
Get a quote now on the cost of Hong Kong employment visas from Hawksford. It's easy and quick. Let us help you get established in Hong Kong.
Discover how Hawksford can helpBack to top