1. Introduction
3.3 A Set of More Liberal Immigration Policies?
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Source: http://www.guidemehongkong.com/incorporation/hr/employee-hiring-guide-hong-kong, accessed on 9
July 2013.
3.3 A Set of More Liberal Immigration Policies?
Hong Kong maintains an open and liberal policy towards entry into the city for employment. There is no sectoral restriction or quota under the admission arrangements.
Immigration policy has favored family reunification since 1993, admitting more children and spouses from the mainland. Between 1987 and 1997, the majority (47.3%) of over 390,000 immigrants came as dependent children (Siu, 1999). According to the HKSAR Basic Law, Hong Kong residents are free to move in and out of the mainland, but mainland residents are restricted in their entry into Hong Kong. People from other countries are required to apply for work permits before they can come to live in Hong Kong. There are no quota restrictions imposed on those who come as managers, professionals and other skilled personnel. Although immigration from mainland China makes an important contribution to population increase in Hong Kong, it does not contribute with equal scale to the increase in the supply of skilled labor. For unskilled workers, they are brought in under different imported labor schemes. For example, under the ―General Employability Policy‖
(GEP), foreign professionals who possess good educational qualifications and also possess special skills, knowledge or experience of value to and not readily available in the Hong Kong can enter and work in Hong Kong by applying for a special work permit scheme. In the face of the shortage of highly skilled workers, there is strong pressure from the business sector for the government to relax the immigration policy for the admission of highly skilled professionals, not only from the mainland, but also from other countries. The government's policy on importation of foreign labor in general is that local workers must be given priority and that employers are unable to recruit local workers. There is no explicit
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quota for the admission of expatriates except for Chinese nationals, but employers must show that they are genuinely unable to recruit local workers.
Firms must advertise for a specified period (normally 2 months) locally, and they are required to offer wages comparable to the market wage in Hong Kong. Many businesses, especially those in the rapidly changing IT industry, believe that the time lag is too long. In the face of keen international competition, the government recently simplified the administrative procedures for the admission of expatriates. It is now no longer necessary to advertise for the specified period before application; instead the government can prove on the application that the skill is valuable but difficult to find in Hong Kong. Thus the time lag for hiring expatriates from overseas is now much shorter, but the procedure for the admission of mainland professionals has been different and much stricter. On the other hand, while there is an existing scheme that allows companies to import foreign workers if they can prove they cannot find locals, approval is granted very rarely. Employers in the construction industry were allowed to import only seven, one and fourteen workers respectively in 2009, 2010 and 2011(The Straits Times, 4 January 2013).
In the past decade, the government has introduced various schemes to attract migrant talents. These schemes are met with limited success, partly because the earlier schemes were formulated with a restrictive immigration mentality and hence contained numerous restrictions, and partly because educated mainlanders, who are the main target of the recent more liberalized schemes, are also the target of similar schemes in many developed countries, including Singapore, Australia, Canada and other Western countries that also face the problem of an aging population.
According to Wong Siu-lun‘s study (2008), foreign labor management of Hong Kong can be divided into three stages:
1. The first period:
While in the early 1990s, the primary concern over international migration in Hong Kong
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was with emigration and the brain drain problem; by mid-1990s, the focus of public discussion has shifted to that of immigration, mainly over the inflow of immigrants from mainland China (Skeldon, 1994). Before October 1980, while immigration control was maintained between the border of mainland China and Hong Kong, a ―touch-base‖ policy was adopted, in that illegal immigrants from mainland China can be allowed to stay if they reached the city. In late 1970s, there was a wave of illegal immigrants coming from mainland China, so that in 1980, the ―touch-base‖ policy was abolished (Government Information Service, 1981). The relaxation of the admission policy for mainland professionals started with overseas mainlanders in 1990, when the government realized that mainland talents could be a good source of highly skilled workers. But procedures for overseas mainlanders to work in Hong Kong were still much stricter than for foreign expatriates. Among other things, they required overseas residence of two years. Family members also had to satisfy the two-year overseas residence requirement. This is not required of other foreign expatriates. To attract more overseas mainland professionals to work in Hong Kong, the overseas residence requirement has recently been relaxed to one year only. The Hong Kong government also tried to relax the admission policy for mainland professionals to fill the demand for skilled workers. A pilot scheme for the entry of mainland professionals was implemented in 1994 with a quota of 1,000. At that time the government and the public still worried that mainland professionals would flood the labor market if there were no quota. However, the scheme was not successful, and it turned out that only about 600 mainland professionals had entered. It is believed that the scheme was not attractive enough because of its various restrictions, among them was that family members could not be admitted and the workers were not eligible for permanent residence.
This unsuccessful scheme was abandoned in 1997 when Hong Kong was returned to Chinese sovereignty.
2. The second period:
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In December 1999 on the recommendation of the Innovation and Technology Commission, a new Admission of Talents scheme was implemented for mainland professionals. The education requirement is high, and the applicants are expected to have post-graduate degrees, preferably a PhD or equivalent. However, it is made much more attractive than the pilot scheme. There is now no quota and no restriction of industry. The professional migrants can bring their spouse and children, they are allowed to change employment after one year, and can apply for permanent residence after seven years. The government initially expected 1,000 or 2,000 applicants in the first year, but applications fell short of these numbers. As of August 2000 (i.e., eight months after implementation), only 323 entry applications for employment were received. Of these, 64 applications were approved and 55 applications were under process. These applicants by design have a high education level.
37 out of the 64 have a doctoral degree, 21 have a master's degree, and the other 6 have a bachelor's degree. However, some business people complain that the credential requirement may not be relevant in some cases and that this has limited the usefulness of the scheme.
Although the credential requirement may be more relevant for high-level research, what the businesses need the most are skilled professionals at the managerial or operational level.
The government then became more aware that in addition to talents, there is a shortage of suitable professionals to meet daily operational needs in specific sectors.
3. The third period:
The government has actively launched several schemes to attract more foreign talents to Hong Kong since 2000s. The Immigration Department of Hong Kong (IMMD) offers some unique immigration schemes to facilitate the entry of persons into Hong Kong who wish to add value to the city and in turn boost its competitiveness in the global market:
3.1 Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP):
To strengthen the competitive edge of Hong Kong, the government has recently proposed to introduce the Admission of Mainland Professionals Scheme on a sector-specific basis in
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June 2001, initially targeting the IT and financial services sector (Government of HKSAR Region, 2001). And, again, successful applicants were not allowed to bring their dependants. The Scheme was abolished on 15 July 2003 and replaced by a fourth scheme, namely the Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals which was implemented in July 2003, to enlarge the pool of talent needed to meet the requirements of a knowledge-based economy and to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong‘s demographic structure (Hong Kong Releases Population Policy Report, 26 February 2003). The Scheme is quota-free and non-sector specific and restrictions on the admission of dependent family members were lifted. The number of talents and professionals to be admitted under the Scheme will be regulated only by demand in the local human resources market. As this scheme allows for intra-company movement, it is so highly attractive to professionals that by the end of 2010, the IMMD received 47,471 ASMTP applications. Of these applications, the IMMD approved 40,933, representing an 86% approval rate. Data from IMMD also showed that the number of approved applications increased by 14.3% between 2009 and 2010. This is a clear indication that Hong Kong values skilled talents from mainland China.
3. 2 Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES):
It was launched in October 2003 to facilitate the entry of people who make capital investments in Hong Kong but do not engage in the operation of businesses. The entrants would be allowed to make their choice of investment amongst permissible assets without the need to establish or join in a business. The scheme is open to foreign nationals (except nationals of Afghanistan, Albania, Cuba and the Democratic People‘s Republic of Korea, Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR) residents, Chinese nationals who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country, stateless persons who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country with proven re-entry facilities and Taiwan residents. The current threshold of investment (and net assets/net equity requirement) is HK$10 million. It may seem logical to conclude that when the CIES
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investment threshold was raised from HK$6.5 million to HK$10 million in October 2010, investors would be turned off. On the contrary, Hong Kong received 16,600 entrant applications. Out of these, 8,924 applicants had already made the requisite investments, which totalled to approximately HK$63.31 billion and were granted approval to reside in the territory. By the end of 2011, a total of 13,111 applicants had been granted formal approval under the scheme.
3. 3 Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS):
It was launched in June 2006 in order to enhance Hong Kong‘s pool of human capital.
Under the scheme, highly-skilled people from both mainland China and around the world may apply to migrate to Hong Kong without securing an offer of employment. In January 2008, the government has increased the age ceiling and relaxed the general points test marking scheme to allow more young professionals with significant achievements to qualify under the QMAS. Between February 2008 and December 2010, the government reported that the average monthly QMAS applications have increased to 105 (from the initial 67 before the relaxation came into effect) and resulted in 1,486 approved QMAS applications. 25.6% of the applicants approved were aged 25 – 29 while 48.6% were aged 30 – 39. This data proves that the adjustments have drawn more quality migrants who contribute to Hong Kong‘s commerce, IT and telecommunications, arts, culture, broadcasting and entertainment sectors. In order to secure entry into Hong Kong under QMAS scheme, the applicant must satisfy the basic pre-requisites, pass a points-based test and compete for quota allocation with other applicants. Under the scheme, a maximum of 1,000 applicants per year may be admitted into Hong Kong. Unlike the employment visa, applicants are not required to secure a confirmed employment offer in order to enter and stay in Hong Kong. A total of 322 applicants were allocated quotas in 2007. At the end of 2011, a quota of 2,094 places had been allotted to applicants.
3. 4 Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG):
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The Hong Kong government pledged to implement measures to attract more overseas students to pursue their tertiary postgraduate education in Hong Kong. The ―Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates‖ was introduced on 19 May 2008 to attract non-local graduates to stay/return and work in Hong Kong, so as to strengthen Hong Kong‘s human resources and competitiveness and enhance Hong Kong‘s attractiveness to non-local students (Hong Kong annual report, 2011). Persons from outside Hong Kong who have obtained a degree or higher qualification in a full-time and locally-accredited programme in Hong Kong (non-local graduates) may apply to stay/return and work in Hong Kong under the IANG. Non-local graduates who submit applications to the Immigration Department within six months after the date of their graduation are classified as ―non-local fresh graduates‖. Non-local fresh graduates who wish to apply to stay and work in Hong Kong are not required to secure an offer of employment upon application.
They may be granted 12 months‘ stay on time limitation without any other conditions of stay provided that normal immigration requirements are met. Non-local graduates who submit applications after six months of the date of their graduation are classified as
―returning non-local graduates‖. Returning non-local graduates who wish to return to work in Hong Kong are required to secure an offer of employment upon application. Their applications will be favorably considered so long as the job is at a level commonly taken up by degree holders and the remuneration package is set at market level. They may be granted 12 months‘ stay on time limitation without any other conditions of stay provided that normal immigration requirements are met. Persons admitted under the IANG are free to take up and change employment during their permitted stay in Hong Kong without the need to seek prior approval from the Director of Immigration.
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Table 12: Statistics on Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals36
Item 2011 2012
Entry permits processed under Admission
Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals 9,260 10,304