Moving to HK...options for my wife to work?

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    38

    Moving to HK...options for my wife to work?

    My wife and I currently live in the UK and my employer has offered me a fantastic new role in HK starting next March. The only issue is (life's never easy is it!) that my wife is due to start a new job in the UK next month and is now really worried that if we decide to go to HK she won't be able to find work.

    Just wondered if anyone had any advice or insight into:

    - how easy it is for UK migrants to find work in HK?
    - what kind of industries/jobs are more amenable to hiring UK expats?
    - the best way of finding these jobs!

    Thanks in advance.

    ps - my wife has ~8 years of project management experience, mainly in the housing/NGO sector and can't speak Chinese.


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    1,362

    Best send her CV to a local recruitment agent in Hong Kong such as Michael Page. Ease of finding employment will depend on skills, and expats tend to fill the more senior roles when language is not too much of a problem because you are more in a supervisory role.

    Welcome to HK if you decide to come, no UK tax because you are not ordinarily resident in UK, maximum tax is 15% before allowances and no NI, there is MPF but you get to take that away with you when you retire or leave HK for good. Say goodbye to the yob culture and places for beach holidays are within 4 hours travel


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    14,414

    Can't really disagree with Rays comments but to add a few things

    1. Start learning Cantonese and or Mandarin to make herself more marketable, Having a basic understanding and or a willingness to learn will make things easier in the longer term.

    2. Start making use of her networks, Ex colleagues etc who may have contacts in HK and that sort of thing.


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast Marina
    Posts
    17,934

    Project management is very generic - I would have thought that many of the international firms here would like project managers. That said, environment is tough here right now - but by March it might be opening up again.

    One good point - once you have a visa she can get a dependent visa which allows her flexibility to work (more flexibility than you get under an employment visa!).

    I think it probably depends on your relative incomes ... who earns the most? If you, then the lower taxes here might offset the loss of one income and she can come and do "something else" if she does not get a job (subcontracting perhaps? not sure what that market is like as my husband mainly subs for our company! Or volunteering if income is not an issue? Or training? Do a course for a year or two to get new skills to use later? ).

    Or there is the obvious route for expat wives (deep sigh) - have a baby!

    Only you can tell.....


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    1,362

    Oh yeah, could also start posting her CV on Find Jobs. Build a Better Career. Find Your Calling. | Monster.com or www.jobsdb.com but you will get a lot of junk mail