There are quite a few foreigners as agents, but as a percentage wise it is low.
First, pick the exam that you want and sign up for it. I would recommend the E exam which is a 3 hour exam. Don't worry about time, most people finish 30-45 minutes early but take your time to check your unsure questions.
Schedule:
2017 Qualifying examination timetable
Schedule (E-exam for 2017):
http://www.eaa.org.hk/Portals/0/Sect...17EAQE_eng.pdf
Read the Exam handbook:
http://www.eaa.org.hk/Portals/0/Sect...hb_Nov2016.pdf
Then most importantly study all of the practice questions:
Online Mock Examination
Preparing for qualifying examinations
If you don't have the time to read everything then focus on the practice questions. Don't worry about memorising stamp duty charts, they are provided when needed in the exam, but know how to calculate stamp duty for renting and sales.
Try to read the EAA circulars as they go over case studies, present problems, who is at fault, etc. This helps with the style of the questions. I remember the case study was to present a situation when someone sold a flat that belonged to a husband who was unreachable, what happens after the sale when the non-titled wife sold it and the husband didn't want to sell it, who is at fault, including the agents too.
Also, the exam isn't the normal which answer is correct, they will show you 4-5 statements and you need to pick which statements are true or false to the question, and its often more than one statement so if you know i and ii is correct but not sure about iii, then you need to guess A) i and ii or B) i and ii and iii. Hence easy to get it wrong if you don't know the statements nor formats. A lot of it is common sense.
Aim for at least 50-60 hours of studying.