Job Discussion Forums

brinelly · Joined: 15 Apr 2005 Posts: 1

Hello

I have been accepted into the NET Scheme.

1) Will my wife be able to obtain a visa to work if she has no qualifications. If yes, will she find a job? She is willing to do anything.

2) Do you know if education would be expensive for her, if she wanted to take some college courses? (Aesthetics)

3) Do you think being at the bottom of the NET Scheme pay scale and supporting a spouse will make it extremely difficult to save money? If so I am thinking about going to Korea and getting her to tutor on the side. What do you think?

I realise my questions are vague in nature, but any help would be great.

Thanks

distiller · Joined: 31 May 2004 Posts: 249

I had to change this as you edited the original. If your wife does not mind working illegally or getting some training, there is a TEFL course in Zhuhai that did that for a few friends I know, she might be able to find some work. It won't pay the bills and to be honest she will be sitting doing nothing for the majority of the time. How well off you are depends on where you live and what you do in your free time. If you live in Central and like fine dining then you're SOL. If you fancy living in the sticks and eating on the cheap then you can save some cash. A tasty bowl of wanton soup noodles can be had for $12 HK at a noodle shop but a pint of Tetley's can run about $50-$60 HK. That is the essence of Hong Kong.

Zero Hero · Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Posts: 944

Congratulations on being accepted on the NET scheme. However, is that as a SNET or PNET?

The question of a work visa for one's spouse is an old hot topic here. Unfortunately, as a dependant (she will have to come in on such a visa) she has no automatic right to work, ever. You have been accepted to work here, she has not.

It is difficult to imagine what job she could do without any relevant qualifications, and is even harder to imagine who would sponsor her visa. I am afraid I would not be all too hopeful. You should certainly not expect native-speaker status alone to carry much weight here as there is no shortage of such people (with the relevant qualifications, too). The problem will be that, technically at least, to secure a work permit in HK you need to demonstrate to immigration why the job for which you are applying cannot be taken up by someone already a resident.

Study visas are required for education courses in HK and they are not necessarily any easier to secure than work visas. Education is reasonably priced by local standards (i.e., for those of us on a HK salary). To put it into perspective, my CELTA was $25,000 HK, my PGDE a total of $40,000, and my PhD fees are $30,000 annually.

If you are at the bottom of the pay scale then you will be on $17,000 plus an additional $10,500 special allowance. If you are careful then this will be adequate for both you and your spouse.

preston · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 107

What's NET?

Zero Hero · Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Posts: 944

Native English-speaking Teacher. This is a territory-wide initiative of the Education Department of the SAR of Hong Kong which superseded the Ex-Pat Teacher scheme (or ET for short!).

Scott in Incheon · Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 58

There is a lot of illegal work available for spouses. I was a NET for six years before moving to Korea.

In my little suburb of Fairview Park, most spouses had found work either as tutors or working in some of the local kindergartens. Even without qualifications, a lot of people prefer people they know without the paper than those who have the paper and are strangers...so take some time to get to know your neighbours. This was true in the New Territories but might not be true on the Island or Kowloon.

You can also make your own work. Most of the apartment blocks have clubhouses and those clubhouses offer courses for the tenants. You can start your own English class. I knew quite a few people, inlcuding myself who ran such courses.