The high salary level in Hong Kong attracts many mainlanders to work in Hong Kong. However, staying and working in Hong Kong illegally can lead to arrest.

Today I want to tell you: What are the ways to stay and work legally in Hong Kong?

Staying and working illegally in working visa extension hong kong is a criminal offense. To ensure the safety and order of the Hong Kong community, Hong Kong has always been very strict in controlling illegal workers.

In order to maintain our own status in the international community, Hong Kong very much welcomes mainland talents to work and settle in Hong Kong as long as they do so through formal and legal channels.

How can mainlanders work legally in Hong Kong?

If mainlanders really want to work and live in Hong Kong, there are actually many ways to do so! Today, I will briefly introduce five of them to you.

1. Quality Migrant Admission Scheme

The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) is a scheme to import talents into Hong Kong. The scheme aims to attract highly skilled people from all walks of life to settle in Hong Kong, so as to enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness.

Its selection principles place greater emphasis on whether an applicant's achievements in his/her professional field are essential to the economic development of the Hong Kong community. The two scoring systems are the General Points System (GPS) and the Achievement-based Points System (APPS). It is sufficient to choose one of the scoring systems, and most applicants apply through the General Points System.

The advantage of the Hong Kong Talents Scheme is that applicants are not required to secure employment with a local employer in Hong Kong in advance. In this way, applicants can take their time to seek employment after coming to Hong Kong.

2. Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals

The Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP) allows eligible Mainland residents to apply to work in Hong Kong. Unlike the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS), the QMAS requires applicants to secure employment with local employers as early as possible. The Scheme aims to attract qualified Mainland talents and professionals to work in Hong Kong and to enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness in the international market.

Under this scheme, applicants must possess professional knowledge and skills that are lacking or not readily available in Hong Kong and are suitable for importation of talented professionals in the arts, culture, sports and even catering sectors.

3. High-end Talent Pass Scheme

High-level talents with rich working experience and high academic qualifications are the target group of the High-level Talents. Applicants can choose one of the following categories to apply for the High-level Talent Pass Scheme.

Category A: Individuals with annual financial income of HK$2.5 million or above in the year immediately prior to the date of application

Category B: Bachelor's degree from a top 100 university with at least three years of working experience in the five years immediately before application

Category C: Those who have obtained a Bachelor's Degree from one of the world's top 100 universities in the five years immediately preceding the date of application, but with less than three years of working experience.

There is no quota limit for Group A and Group B. However, there is a quota for Group C every year on a first-come-first-served basis. In addition, applications under Group C are not applicable to non-local students pursuing full-time locally-accredited programs leading to a bachelor's degree in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Applicants under the HSP can seek job opportunities in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the future without the need to secure prior employment with an employer or company. However, when applying for extension of stay, applicants must prove that they have secured a job offer or set up a company.

It should be noted that the scheme can only be approved once and if the applicant is unsuccessful in signing the contract, he/she will not be able to apply for the scheme again in the future.

4. Study in Hong Kong

Studying in Hong Kong and working in Hong Kong after graduation is also a way to work in Hong Kong. In particular, Hong Kong's unique one-year master's degree program is favored by many young people in the Mainland. As a matter of fact, the universities in Hong Kong that admit mainland students can also be regarded as "employers" in Hong Kong.

Mainlanders must first be admitted to a Hong Kong institution before coming to Hong Kong, and they can apply for an IANG visa after studying in Hong Kong for one year. If you are studying for a longer period of time, you must complete your studies before you can stay and work in Hong Kong. And you have to find a job before you can apply for renewal of status.

5.Hong Kong Imported Workers Scheme

Imported Workers Scheme (IWS) is a scheme launched by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government this year to cope with the demand of the local labor market. The scheme allows enterprises with legal status in Hong Kong to employ foreign workers from other countries or regions to fill vacancies in the Hong Kong labor market.

In the construction and transportation industries, Hong Kong has implemented a special scheme for the importation of foreign workers, under which applications will be accepted from July onwards and the results will be announced within two months.

In addition, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has optimized the existing Supplementary Labour Scheme by opening up 26 job categories to foreign workers, including salespersons and hair stylists. It has also shortened the processing time of the scheme from five months to three months and renamed it the Optimized Supplementary Labour Scheme. The salaries of these trades are all higher than those of their mainland counterparts, and this is a good opportunity for mainland workers to seek development!