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The question of foreign national, fresh graduates taking up employment in Hong Kong is a thorny one and much depends on the identity of the employer offering the role and the profile that employer has as an immigration sponsor in Hong Kong.

QUESTION

First of all, thanks a lot for your helpful tips on this website!

My question is regarding to new graduate management trainee position.

How does the HKID consider a position like this? Is it easy or hard to get Hong Kong working visa for a management trainee position in a big company?

Thanks a lot!

ANSWER

Very interesting question this one, because in the normal scheme of events, new graduates from university are precluded from accessing an employment visa in Hong Kong under the General Employment Policy. That is new undergraduates that are coming into the workforce for the first time and don’t bring with them additional skills and working experience from prior employments.

So, insofar as the availability of an employment visa for a graduate management trainee who is a foreign national in nine times out of ten, the answer is no. Unfortunately the General Employment Policy precludes that from happening. Having said that, it very much depends on the employer.

If you have a very sizable employer, Hong Kong publicly listed concern, for example, or a major multinational here that has an extremely good track record of employing locals, the Immigration Department typically in those circumstances tend not to second guess the staffing patterns of those employers.

Given that, as I say, they typically do have a very good local staffing profile, so much will turn on the experience of the employer and what kind of profile they have with the Immigration Department in that respect. The other thing to consider of course is that if you are a graduate from a local university then, effectively this is a non issue because you are able to join the workforce directly as a freshen non-local graduate under the immigration arrangements for non-local graduates where effectively the Immigration department rubber stamp an application to convert from a student visa through to an employment visa without actually needing to nominate an employer at the time of making that adjustment.

So for the first twelve months after graduating from a local university and converting from a student visa effectively you’ve carte blanche to take up employment with any Hong Kong employer, large or small. And at the end of those first twelve months the extension of your first year limited stay goes through with favourable consideration applied on the basis that you can show that you are now gainfully employed in any position with a local employer.

So that’s it, I’m afraid, I can’t say that the door is totally closed on the possibility of you being able to take up a position as a foreign national, fresh graduate as a management trainee with a sizable organisation in Hong Kong. But it will depend, as I’ve said, on the identity of the employer and what kind of profile they have with the Immigration Department as being a sophisticated employer of locals in Hong Kong.

But in real terms I think the question is best directed at your employer, they will know if they’ve had that experience or not.

I hope this helps.

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