Hundreds of top talent need visa extensions

Jamie Liu

Around 300 individuals who came to Hong Kong through the Top Talent Pass Scheme will need a visa extension, as Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han expects the renewals to peak by the second quarter.

Sun said there are no plans to change the requirements and conditions for visa extension.

The scheme has approved around 100,000 applications since its launch in October 2022 as part of a drive to attract overseas or mainland talent to work and live in the city.

Among them, some 300 will need to extend their visas in the first quarter, as their initial two-year stays begin to expire, with the peak for visa extension to arrive in the second quarter, Sun said on television yesterday.

When asked about individual cases in which the extension only lasts for a few months, Sun explained the renewal stay period is linked to the length of the applicant's employment contract.

"Let's say an applicant's visa expires in March, he finds a job, but the employment ends in September. We have no reason to give him a three-year stay."

In this case, Sun said a six-month extension will be granted.

"After six months, if the employer renews the contract, [we] will provide an appropriate length of stay," Sun added, stressing that the Immigration Department undertakes careful considerations in such extension processes.

Meanwhile, rights groups claimed that about 30 percent of foreign domestic helpers suffering from severe illness have been illegally dismissed in the past five years.

The Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Union and the and Filipino Migrants Cancer Support Society Hong Kong said they have logged 195 cases of helpers diagnosed with cancer or other severe illness since 2020.

Among them, 67 were able to continue working and remain in Hong Kong for treatment, while 52 passed away, 42 returned to the Philippines, and 34 lost contact with the support society.

Additionally, only 10 percent of workers who were kept on the job received full support from their employers regarding medical expenses, while 45 percent received no aid.

Mary Ann, a domestic worker, said her sister Baby Jane Allas had to return to the Philippines after being unlawfully terminated in 2019.

The advocacy groups called for strengthened education and law enforcement to protect foreign domestic workers' labor rights.

jamie.liu@singtaonewscorp.com