Job Discussion Forums

ozman · Joined: 12 Jun 2004 Posts: 133 Location: HONG KONG

Mark O - I'm sure you WILL get a job in Hong Kong - whether it's the NET scheme or not. Let us know via this forum. Good luck with your PGCE.

I'd like to know how many so called years of experience Blind Freddie has. I suspect very little, considering his petulant, immature and childish tone. Get a life Blind Fred and quit hassling Mark O who raised some rational points.
Ozman

vmaxwell · Joined: 28 Jun 2004 Posts: 3

Am I understanding this correctly? I have to sign up with someone before heading over because on a visitor visa no one will hire me. However, aren't there ways of getting around this?

Can I find a sponsor once I'm there who will hire me and then leave the country (ie: go to Macau) to apply for the proper working visa needed for employment? The whole point of me not signing up ahead of time was to be able to avoid signing a bogus contract (and there seems to be enough floating around) but maybe this isn't an option.

I feel badly continuing this discussion because it seems to have gotten slightly heated...however, very informative for me as a rookie (thanks).
I have been struggling to get any answers from the embassy here in Canada and the website doesn't talk about switching visas or sponsorship.
Any help would be much appreciated, thanks![/quote]

AndyinHK · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Posts: 98

go to emigra.com.hk

They can give you advice about visa rules.

I wouldn't come to HK looking for work without at least 3 or 4 months of living expenses.

Ludwig · Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2004 5:10 am Post subject:

Nicola H · Joined: 07 Apr 2004 Posts: 11

Sounds like Ludwig wants to keep HK for himself.

Vanessa, I think it depends what kind of teaching job you are looking for. If you have the qualifications and experience for the NET scheme or an International school, you should apply from your home country. However, some primary schools hire NETs locally which means that they don't pay a housing allowance. Not all locally hired NETs have PGCEs, so it may be worth looking in the classifieds in the SCMP as those schools will be advertising for the coming September.

If you want to find work in a language school, it's best to already be in HK as you will be able to compare salaries and working conditions and hopefully find a good school. I think the maximum wage you can expect from a language school would be round about $20,000 if you only want to work a 5 day week (Saturday would definitely be included in that).

Turning up on a tourist visa and looking for work is very common, finding a company that will sponsor you straight away is a little more difficult but far from impossible. Once the company agrees to sponsor you, immigration will give you a card to put in your passport saying that you have an application in process. If they accept your application, they give you a visa which says your status has changed- now you can work- you do not have to leave HK for them to do this. Work visas are tied to the job, so if you want to change employer, you have to reapply.

I know that the visa laws have tightened since last September, but I don't think that any of the above information has changed.

Hope it helps.

ozman · Joined: 12 Jun 2004 Posts: 133 Location: HONG KONG

Some good advice from Nicola. Yes you can change visa status once you get here. I'm a NET but arrived on a tourist visa as I didn't have time to get the work visa processed. I changed over once I got here with the help of my employer. My partner, on a dependent visa, did the same thing after finding work.
Nicola's right too about finding work as a local NET in a school. And you don't have to leave HK to change visa.
Ozman

Pieface · Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 42

ryuro · Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 91

Hey all,

Just wanted to point out a misinformation in a previous post (by Ludwig I think)....

Ya made a little mistake when you said that you can't 'seek' employment on a tourist visa- WRONG!

It's perfectly ok to "seek" employment on a tourist visa (had a lot of dealings with people doing this as a recruiter).

However, "taking-up" employment while still on a tourist visa is of course illegal.

Basically you can look for a job and if you find one, you can't start working- legally that is- until the tourist visa is changed over to a work visa.

However, just about everyone I know who came over on a tourist visa started working and getting paid by 'gift checks' if their visa wasn't ready when work started until their proper work visa was secure and this includes people working for reputable international schools.

Just thought it would be helpful for potential newbies to know that they can come here on a tourist visa and look for work. Of course, how easy it is to find a job and a sponsor to go through the process of changing the visa is another matter entirely.

Cheers,
ryuro