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London TO HK

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  1. #11

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    Best to clarify the visa arrangement. The special visa might be what they call working holiday visas. You can work for an employer for 90 days.

    F&B companies use this effectively to rotate staff between establishments as each restaurant is usually setup under a different company.


  2. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    Best to clarify the visa arrangement. The special visa might be what they call working holiday visas. You can work for an employer for 90 days.

    F&B companies use this effectively to rotate staff between establishments as each restaurant is usually setup under a different company.
    I think if OP is a UK passport holder, they can work for an employer for 12 months.

    Better to come under a GEP visa though if possible, as the working holiday visa can't be extended and if you decide to settle here, the time spent in HK under this visa is not counted in the 7 years for permanent residency.
    shri likes this.

  3. #13

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    I think if OP is a UK passport holder, they can work for an employer for 12 months.
    Oops. Sorry, thought the 90 day rule extended to all working holiday visas. Indeed 12 months for British citizens.

    OP:

    https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services...ay_scheme.html
    Scousebanana likes this.

  4. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by matt.Z:
    Thanks all for your help and advice. I spoke with the recruiter and said when I find a suitable job they would me settle in, find some accommodation and introduce me to some people. I have to do it now as I am still 29 and he said they do special visa in HK for under 30.

    I am prepared to work hard. Hopefully I will have time to explore HK aswell as I hear most people tend to only get 1 day off a week?

    Thanks again.
    Since you're 29 years old I'm sure you still have energy to explore HK on your day off. Plus there are a number of HK public holidays too.

  5. #15

    You will have less shocks if you are going to work with British in HK. You will have more shocks if the people are Asians. Work and lifestyle balance of locals and expats in other industries are not relevant. Expats live very differently from the locals. Expats in different industries are different. For example, finance jobs are different from education. F&B more different in hard work and work hours. Number of English speaking expats is not small compared with most other Asian cities. Many in industries other than education too. You will have a lot of problems in Mainland China and Taiwan not speaking Mandarin. HK is mainly Cantonese with most more educated locals speaking both Cantonese and English. Your place of work is probably the more expensive restaurants if they hire foreign chefs.

    If you eat out, there are many cheap Asian restaurants but with less English spoken.


  6. #16

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    As a chef it will probably depend on where you are in the pecking order. A chef in a fancy, expensive high class hotel or restaurant? Probably not much different to London. In a cheap local Chinese place - you will be shocked by people washing dishes in cold water in the street and other weirdness. You will be working when most expats are partying, but that doesn't need to be an issue. Many trailing spouses (of both sexes) doing stuff during the day - websites like Meetup make it much easier to find people to go hiking/sailing/dragon boating/board game playing or whatever you fancy with other people. I found HK to be the easiest place I had lived to make friends (serial expat in 5 places before HK). Life is expensive - flats are tiny, kitchens are tiny, quality groceries are expensive but travel around Asia is cheap and HK has a lot of offer if you like outdoor stuff - much less so if you like culture stuff. Best way is to come and see.

    imparanoic and hin23leung like this.

  7. #17

    I'm also going to be moving to Hong Kong. Came over in November to see my girlfriend and her family and stayed with them. The spaces are much smaller when compared to London in terms of accommodation but for one person it's definitely enough. I too am coming from London so Hi5! I got a job offer when I was in Hong Kong which is great news for me as it means I'm closer to my girlfriend and I have friends that I met during my uni days over in HK. I'll be coming over as a software engineer in the finance industry, pretty much what I'm doing now, exciting times! Just waiting for that background check to complete then I'll be heading over.


  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Johnathon332:
    I'm also going to be moving to Hong Kong. Came over in November to see my girlfriend and her family and stayed with them. The spaces are much smaller when compared to London in terms of accommodation but for one person it's definitely enough. I too am coming from London so Hi5! I got a job offer when I was in Hong Kong which is great news for me as it means I'm closer to my girlfriend and I have friends that I met during my uni days over in HK. I'll be coming over as a software engineer in the finance industry, pretty much what I'm doing now, exciting times! Just waiting for that background check to complete then I'll be heading over.
    Congratulations, but nowhere do you mention your visa so I assume that is sorted?

  9. #19

    Join Date
    May 2008
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    I was lucky to learn about world class food and wine in HKG
    I got to know a great group of Swiss chefs from major hotels and Air Caterers as I speak kraut well (but then had to relearn Baslertopf)
    My close mate was head chef of Gaddis, then the Peninsula so I was ‘forced’ to test new Gaddis dishes and wines FOC
    until the new Regent poached him & I had to slum it in their Steak House He is now GM of a hotel chain in China
    Expect to work two shifts a day as a sous chef- morning prep then lunch – disappear for three hours and be back at 6pm for the dinner shift
    By law you must get one day off per week
    Numerous western chefs here have branched out into other careers, food factories, hotel portioned food supply
    One sous chef from the Pen became a manager at an elite golf club on the south of HK Island so the opportunities are greater here than the UK and it’s warmer
    Some people did not like the intensity levels here – one Exec chef of the Sheraton moved back to Basel and I visited him there – he found it strange having to clock on and off at work again
    Another left Swire Air Caterers and ran the restaurants on the Rhine steamers
    When you get a job offer let us know which restaurant
    As posted elsewhere here the local landlords take one look at how busy the place is then double the rent, believing the owners will not walk away from the expensive redecoration and setup
    so you need a watertight contract

    shri, tf19 and Fiona in HKG like this.

  10. #20

    The western chefs tend to come from Western Europe, with fewer from the Americas and Australia. Between HK, Dubai, Singapore and Tokyo. Which city has the most chefs from Europe?