HK eyes foreign home care workers for as early as late 2027: Chris Sun

Trained and experienced foreign domestic carers could arrive in Hong Kong as early as the second half of next year under a new pilot scheme, said Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han.

This came after the government proposed the pilot in the Policy Address to import foreign home care workers for elderly care, modeled on the existing foreign domestic helper system.

Speaking on a television program on Sunday, the labor minister said the government had already sounded out overseas agencies, believing that a pay 10 to 20 percent above standard domestic helper wages would be enough to attract recruits.

He added that future pay adjustments would follow the same mechanism as for domestic helpers.

With considerable preparation needed, he anticipated the imported carers could arrive as early as in the second half of next year. He explained that the carers would handle general household chores but also need specialized elder care skills.

The preliminary plan, he said, would require at least 150 hours of training in their home country and a passing assessment before they could come to Hong Kong.

When asked whether the new workers would take jobs from residential care home health workers who provide home visits, Sun acknowledged that their skill levels were comparable.

However, he said the home care workers would not be local staff employed by any care home or institution.

Noting that about 400,000 residents are now aged 80 or above — a figure set to hit 750,000, or one in 10 people, within a decade — he said the city would need more measures to meet growing elderly care demand and the challenges of a "super-aged society."

Addressing concerns about fraud in certification or assessment, Sun reassured that accredited professional bodies would design the courses and oversee the assessment process to guarantee the qualifications' authenticity.

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