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Moving to Hong Kong from the UK

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  1. #1

    Moving to Hong Kong from the UK

    I have the opportunity to move to Hong Kong. I have a friend who lives on the island who says I can come stay with him rent free from mid-September. I am going there in the hope that I can find a job and VISA sponsorship. Being British I will be allowed to stay for 180 days, so I have half a year to find employment. Is this a crazy idea? I am basically going there to start a new life. Would it be difficult for someone like me to get employed there? My qualifications: TEFL 100 hour certificate (grade A), BSc degree, MSc degree (still studying now, almost done).


  2. #2

    Join Date
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    Firstly lots are going to say - you can't move to HK without a visa. But you can come on holiday and stay with your friend.

    What is your degree in? It is hard for graduates to get work here, graduate salaris are low compared to the UK, and to get a sponsored visa your employer needs to show no current resident with appropriate skills can be found. You could possibly get a job with sponsorship teaching English (more likely with experience).

    What do you want to do as a career? It would be better to spend a few years in your chose career in the UK, then look to move once you have skills and experience that are in demand.


  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Beanieskis:
    Firstly lots are going to say - you can't move to HK without a visa. But you can come on holiday and stay with your friend.

    What is your degree in? It is hard for graduates to get work here, graduate salaris are low compared to the UK, and to get a sponsored visa your employer needs to show no current resident with appropriate skills can be found. You could possibly get a job with sponsorship teaching English (more likely with experience).

    What do you want to do as a career? It would be better to spend a few years in your chose career in the UK, then look to move once you have skills and experience that are in demand.
    My master's, which I am almost finished, is an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience. I know I can not work without a VISA, but I can legally go for 180 days and I have two contacts who said they can probably get me some kind of office job or a job teaching English (and then the employer will sponsor me for a VISA). I do not wish to stay in the UK. The employment situation here is bad. I grew up in Asia and wish to leave this country. I have no solid career plans.

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by whimsical_guy:
    My master's, which I am almost finished, is an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience. I know I can not work without a VISA, but I can legally go for 180 days and I have two contacts who said they can probably get me some kind of office job or a job teaching English (and then the employer will sponsor me for a VISA). I do not wish to stay in the UK. The employment situation here is bad. I grew up in Asia and wish to leave this country. I have no solid career plans.
    Erm, ok... First thing, VISA isn't an acronym, so stop capitalising it

    You will not necessarily get a visa for a random office job, or even a teaching job, unless your application convinces the HK Immigration department that your sponsor has tried and failed to hire a local for the job, and that - by extension - you are bringing something which isn't available in the local employment market. It's certainly not a given for someone with - apparently - no working experience, and who isn't particularly planning to look for specialist work connected with his qualifications.

    Growing up 'in Asia' is pretty vague. Do you speak/read/write any Chinese? Pretty hard to get clerical work without that. Having somewhere to live will make things a lot easier, but HK isn't a cheap place to live, particularly for a new arrival who won't know the local tricks - do you have savings to live on for, potentially, a few months without work?

    Upping sticks and moving to a new country mostly isn't something you can just do without some serious planning and work. Most of us here have done it at least once, and had a better or worse time of it, but don't assume it will be easy, to find work, to get a visa, to settle in...

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by vmlinuz:
    Erm, ok... First thing, VISA isn't an acronym, so stop capitalising it

    You will not necessarily get a visa for a random office job, or even a teaching job, unless your application convinces the HK Immigration department that your sponsor has tried and failed to hire a local for the job, and that - by extension - you are bringing something which isn't available in the local employment market. It's certainly not a given for someone with - apparently - no working experience, and who isn't particularly planning to look for specialist work connected with his qualifications.

    Growing up 'in Asia' is pretty vague. Do you speak/read/write any Chinese? Pretty hard to get clerical work without that. Having somewhere to live will make things a lot easier, but HK isn't a cheap place to live, particularly for a new arrival who won't know the local tricks - do you have savings to live on for, potentially, a few months without work?

    Upping sticks and moving to a new country mostly isn't something you can just do without some serious planning and work. Most of us here have done it at least once, and had a better or worse time of it, but don't assume it will be easy, to find work, to get a visa, to settle in...
    I have enough savings to last a few months, yes. I lived in South Korea between the ages of 5 and 10. I have also lived in the United States and the UK. I am only saying this to demonstrate that I have moved around before, I have not stayed in the same area my whole life. My two friends in the area seem to think it will be relatively easy to get a work visa. One of my contact's father owns a large property company and reckons he can get me some kid of office job. My other contact teaches English and is convinced I can find a job like his with ease. He is so confident I can find a teaching job that he is letting me live with him rent free until I find one.

  6. #6

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    Yes it's true you will probably have no trouble getting an English teaching job and visa, provided you're not fussy and OK starting at around $20k per month (Your degree + TEFL + native Englishshould pretty much guarantee this).

    This figure can go up significantly if you intend to make a career of it.

    For 'some kind of office job' it is much less likely you'll get a visa since it is a position a local can fill much more easily.


  7. #7

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    I'd be very surprised the property company would be able to make a case to immigration that a guy with no chinese, no relevent qualifications and, unless I'm mistaken, no experience in the property market would be worth hiring over a local. On the other hand you could easily get A teaching job, but whether it was a good teaching job, in a reputable company, with good pay etc, would depend on your teaching experience. What experience do you have? And equally important, did you actually enjoy it?


  8. #8

    I do not have a lot of experience teaching, though I have some. I have helped teachers in classrooms before and I spent a summer in Spain teaching some children English (living with a family). My friend seems to think my postgraduate degree and TEFL certificate will be enough. I am absolutely willing to take this risk and travel there.

    Last edited by whimsical_guy; 11-04-2013 at 12:08 AM.

  9. #9

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    Just do it. I did the same thing in 2009.

    I graduated, went to Beijing, did a CELTA, then came to HK and within a week I had secured a job. The work visa was processed 2 weeks later. My degree was also a BSc, not a BA, so you'll be fine.

    Admittedly, the company I worked for ( a language centre) were terribly organised and it wasn't the best year. I was only on 18k a month and had to travel here, there and everywhere for my job, teaching all age ranges, all levels, and a full range of behaviours. All of this with the provision of awful, error strewn teaching materials.

    I do think I learnt a lot from that year though, including how to improvise and think independently in a variety of teaching situations (a great quality to gain), and how to ignore, despise and avoid figures of authority within a company (not so great!)


  10. #10

    Was 18k enough to live on comfortably? Also, I did a 100 hour TEFL course, not CELTA. I am aware CELTA is considered better.


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