With over a million residents, Hong Kong is recognized as the most populated nation in the world. Topping the globe in terms of economy, the republic provides not just a good standard of living, quality infrastructure, and affordable healthcare for its residents but also employment. Although it has a high rate of unemployment, it remains a major hub of assembling, technology, production, et cetera. This could be one of the reasons why expats from developing countries tend to flock here. Making it a haven for expats scouring for greener opportunities outside their regions. Regardless of the city, they live in, foreign employees enjoy benefits such as attractive pay, affordable insurance, medical coverage, and friendly taxes, amongst others. Despite the many job openings offered, finding a good job is not an easy task for expats.
Nonetheless, large companies have a habit of employing experienced and skilled workers, thus, an expat who hopes to work here needs to satisfy the conditions required by recruiting firms. This article explains how to find a job in Hong Kong as an expat, whether you’re migrating for work or want to work while studying.
Finding work as an expat
Work vacancies are in numerous Chinese corporations, multinationals, and plants scattered in different parts of the territory. Though the common means of searching for work is by recommendation, foreigners can find work on recruitment sites, social media, and in local newspapers too. Recruitment websites and platforms are set up to regularly advertise job vacancies that are open to foreigners, based on their nationalities and fields of interest. Interested persons must ensure they meet the criteria of the position before applying.
On LinkedIn and some Facebook groups, thousands of worldwide jobs foreigners can apply to, are posted daily. Expats in the country can find postings in the job advert sections of newspapers in their localities. They are usually advertised by companies looking for workers around them. Job openings can be found on the recruitment portals of organizationsโ websites and the countryโs immigration portal.ย Foreigners can easily apply for these jobs by filling out the application forms on the sites.
Work requirements for expats
Getting employment abroad is not entirely impossible. For skilled and experienced emigrants3, there are high-paying jobs open for workers who meet the requirements of the vacant roles. A foreigner who hopes to work in this Asian country has to meet the following requirements:
Language proficiency
Communication is key to a better relationship. Without proper communication, people find it hard to corroborate and understand each other. The official language spoken by almost all of its population is Chinese. This means that a foreigner looking to enjoy his or her stay here must be able to communicate in the language. To find good jobs with attractive pay, expats must be able to speak Mandarin to some extent. For expats who are native English speakers, jobs in the teaching line are easy to get and pay well. Foreign English teachers are largely sought after in private primary and secondary schools located in all parts of the country.
Work visa/permit
A work visa issued by an embassy or consulate to an applicant going to work in their country. This implies that for a foreigner residing outside the country to work here, he or she must apply for this visa upon gaining employment. This only allows the legal entry of such expat into the republic. They will still need to obtain a work permit from the government upon arrival in the country. The prospective employer always applies for a permit.ย
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