Quitting Job, Loopholes in Contract

[Fiona in HKG]

I found this in another thread and I think it can clarify a few things:



The post was made by a user and it doesn't come from an official source which puts a question mark on the validity of the content.

My experience with this....

The easiest change of sponsor is when you are doing the same kind of work at the new employer as you were doing at the old employer. For example, a NET teacher would have little difficulty changing from one school to another. Having once established that they serve a legitimate need in HK, they would not need to establish that again. If the change is to an entirely different line of work, however (like from a teacher to a bartender) you/your employer might be asked by the immigration department to show (again) that the job you are taking will not impact negatively on employment chances for native HKers. Sometimes they are pretty easy-going about this, but at other times they get tough. Again, at all times it is easier to change a sponsor than to get the first one approved.

.... has been varied. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. For example I hired someone in the e-commerce field with a perfect background for us, in basically the same job as he was holding. The title moving over was the same he had held with his original employer. He'd been with them for almost four years and I had an existing role. I was challenged by Immigration to show them how I had advertised for the role to attract local talent (which I had and could show a list of local and overseas candidates, and overseas candidates already in HK). This one took the entire six weeks to process with a lot of delays even after I had sent everything in to substantiate efforts had been made to recruit local talent instead.

I think the underlying message has to always be, these visas remain at Immigration Department's discretion, nothing is ever guaranteed.

[BrightSum]

A few observations:

1) My firm recently engaged a person on a visa. The--sorry for the use of a word we have established is incorrect--"transfer" process was every bit as painful as any initial engagement I've been involved with. My personal impression has been that PRC citizens are getting VERY careful review.

2) Those that are eligible should get on the "top tier" visa. It's an eminently sensible program. I believe the particulars are that one need have been in HK at least two years (so it can occur at the time of the first renewal) and have earned HKD2,000,000 in the last year, as evidenced by your HK tax return. I believe if one is in good standing and meets the criteria, then it is more-or-less automatically granted.

I reviewed this program and the Quality Migrant program and could not discern any real advantage to the latter (besides possibly sounding cooler). The TT visa holder can switch jobs without the permission of ImmD (although he does need to notify them of updated job status) and he need not apply for leave to stay in HK should he leave his current role. I believe that a standard employment visa is technically invalidated upon leaving employment, although in practice it seems that ImmD is happy to let visa-holders stay. The TT holder has an edge in the job market, as a new employer need not apply for a visa for that person.

Anyway, the TT program obviates some of the inconvenience that OP is in, being tied to a company.

[JAherbert]

its not been mentioned, it must be said a four month track record in hong kong just doesn't look good.

[NotinviteD]

its not been mentioned, it must be said a four month track record in hong kong just doesn't look good.

My intent was always to come to Hong Kong as a teacher and find a job within my field while physically being here. My current school treats me like they don't care about me so I feel no remorse trying to switch jobs.

[JAherbert]

often people switch jobs every two years around Chinese new year time

[BrightSum]

In my business, this is sometimes called the "Hong Kong Hop." I saw the resume the other day of a 30-year old lady who had had six jobs since graduating 8 years prior.

[HK_Katherine]

In my business, this is sometimes called the "Hong Kong Hop." I saw the resume the other day of a 30-year old lady who had had six jobs since graduating 8 years prior.

No way I would even interview someone with a resume like that!

[JAherbert]

No way I would even interview someone with a resume like that!

I agree , in my sector its normally two years then hop.

to be honest I wouldn't consider a candidate who swapped jobs after only 4 months in Hong Kong either (just my old git view)

[Edwardstorm]

I guess it depends, if the applicant has held several jobs for several years each and only held the last job for 4 months after moving to HK that in itself could simply be the result of a bad choice of first employer in HK and not indicative of applicant's ability to commit to a job.

There are extreme cases though, I always wonder what companies are thinking when they review an applicant's background. As an example: I met someone at a compliance conference a few months ago, we had a quick chat and exchanged business cards. A few weeks later he sends me a message through Linkedin asking if I could introduce him to our HR department in the Philippines as they hadn't responded to his previous queries. Upon checking his Linkedin profile it showed he had a whopping 11 different employers in the past 6 years. Obviously I didn't introduce him but I was shocked to see that among those employers were highly reputable firms (where he worked anywhere between 2 and 6 months). Makes you wonder....

[JAherbert]

I guess it depends, if the applicant has held several jobs for several years each and only held the last job for 4 months after moving to HK that in itself could simply be the result of a bad choice of first employer in HK and not indicative of applicant's ability to commit to a job.

ok. equally, it could mean the candidate cannot settle, and will be off next month.