ImmD cracks down on ex-domestic helpers working illegally, arrests 34 in major raid

The Immigration Department swept through restaurants, food factories, and bars across the city in a three-day raid, arresting 24 suspected illegal workers—mostly former domestic helpers who overstayed after being fired—and eight employers who hired them.

The operation, which ran from November 18 to 20, targeted 27 locations and revealed a growing trend of fired foreign domestic helpers, mainly from Indonesia, refusing to leave Hong Kong and instead taking cash-in-hand jobs as dishwashers, cleaners, and kitchen helpers for daily wages of HK$300 to HK$500.

Some had been working illegally for nearly a year.

Among those detained were 13 former helpers whose contracts were terminated, some as early as two months after arrival; ten people on “visitor” status not permitted to work; one mainland Chinese overstayer; and two Indonesian women who simply stayed beyond their visa limits.

The eight employers, all Hong Kong residents aged 27 to 64, face prosecution for hiring illegal labor.

An ImmD spokesman said many of the ex-helpers quickly found hideouts after being dismissed, then moved into underground jobs.

He warned employers that hiring anyone whose domestic helper contract has ended or been cancelled is now punishable by up to HK$500,000 in fines and ten years in jail, penalties that were sharply increased in 2021 to reflect the seriousness of the offense.

Officers urged businesses always to verify work eligibility documents, adding that the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are possible.