Hello,
I am a British citizen and passport holder currently resident in the UK. I am a degree holder, a native English speaker and am soon to hold a TEFL certificate. Due to the terrible job market in the UK and already having spent a lot of time in HK, as well as the strong contacts I have there, I am considering moving to Hong Kong in the new year. However I am unsure as to how the right to work operates.
I am not a resident of Ireland, Australia or NZ, so I cannot apply for the Working Holiday Scheme, nor would I want to, as it limits you to 3 months in each job. Nor do I qualify for the Quality Migrant Scheme either.
My HK contacts keep saying how native English speakers are in high demand in tutorial schools and can find work easily (especially with a Degree and TEFL). This seems to be my best hope. But how does one job hunt, and get the right to work?
Does one arrive in Hong Kong on a tourist visa, job hunt, and then convert it into a work visa once they've found a job? Is a visa run to Macau needed? Isn't it illegal to job hunt while on a tourist visa? Wouldn't the crossover be rather awkward? Indeed, how does the cross over from a tourist visa to a work visa actually happen? Can it?
So, quite simply, what is the procedure?