Hong Kong Refused 455 Domestic Helper Visas Over Suspected Job-Hopping in 3 Years

Hong Kong's Immigration Department investigated 3,303 employment visa applications from foreign domestic helpers suspected of job-hopping over the past three years, and 455 of them were eventually rejected, in a written Legislative Council reply issued on November 11. Another 259 applications were withdrawn by the applicants or could not be followed up. The figures came from the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in a written reply to a question by the Hon Augustine Wong, and the window runs to October 2026. Job-hopping here means abuse of the arrangement for premature termination of contract by FDHs to change employers, not simply leaving a job. For Metaintro readers who work as domestic helpers in Hong Kong, or who employ one, the useful part is the rulebook behind those numbers, covering how a contract can end legally, what a helper is owed, when a new employer is allowed, and how long a helper may stay after a contract ends.

What Did the Government Disclose About Suspected Job-Hopping Refusals?

The core numbers come from one paragraph of the reply. Over the three-year window to October 2026, the special duties team ran these investigations, and a yearly breakdown of these statistics was attached as an annex.

The annex splits the period into three years. The team investigated 1 183 cases in 2024, 1 218 in 2025 and 902 in 2026 as of October. Rejections ran at 266 in 2024, 93 in 2025 and 96 in 2026 as of October. Applications withdrawn or not further processed came to 104, 86 and 69 across the same three periods.

The reply also set a limit on what is known. The department does not maintain a breakdown of the relevant statistics by the nationality of applicants, so the figures cover helpers of every origin together. Wong had asked for numbers on FDHs who left Hong Kong upon unilaterally and prematurely terminating their contracts without giving notice, but the department keeps none of the other statistics mentioned in the question.

How Have Refusals Changed Since 2021?

The longer record shows a steep drop. In an earlier reply, the government put refusals at 502 in 2023, a substantial reduction of about 80 per cent when compared with the figure of 2,833 during the pandemic in 2021. By February 2024, the government described the situation of job-hopping by FDHs as one that had improved significantly.

The 2021 figure came during the pandemic. In February 2023, during a LegCo debate on a motion to improve the policies on foreign domestic helpers, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun linked job-hopping to the shortage of domestic workers in Hong Kong during the pandemic, and the 2021 refusal count was a nine-fold increase compared to 2020.

Across the first two full years in the annex, the team looked at a similar volume of applications while refusing far fewer of them in the second year.

The 2026 totals run only as of October, so they do not cover a full year.

What Counts as Job-Hopping Under Hong Kong Rules?

The department set up a special duties team in June 2013 to strengthen the assessment of employment visa applications from FDHs who change employers frequently, and the department refers suspected job-hopping cases to that team for investigation.

Officers then weigh the full picture. They holistically consider a host of factors, including the conduct of the FDHs, records of the FDHs and their former employers, and the reported reasons for premature termination of employment contracts. Where needed, they proactively contact the former employers and the applicants to verify the reasons a contract ended early.

The outcome for a helper suspected of job-hopping is serious. The department will refuse their employment visa applications and ask them to leave Hong Kong, and it will retain their application records and take them into account when vetting future applications.

A similar warning applies to a government pilot scheme. In October, after concerns raised at a Legislative Council Panel on Welfare Services meeting, Chris Sun warned that helpers who break their employment contracts without valid reasons to join a government pilot program for imported elderly caregivers face being barred from future employment in Hong Kong. Candidates for that pilot must complete a minimum of 150 hours of training before traveling to Hong Kong.

The Government has consistently encouraged employers and FDHs to maintain harmonious employment relationships, and is concerned about cases in which contracts are prematurely terminated, whether at the initiative of the FDHs or the employers, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun wrote on November 11, according to the government's LegCo reply.

When Can a Helper Change Employers Without Leaving Hong Kong?

The default rule is strict. Helpers are admitted only for a specific job with a named employer, and for a limited period, and an application to change employers in the HKSAR within the two-year contract will not as a rule be approved. A helper who wants a new employer must return to his/her place of origin and apply for the appropriate visa directly to the Director of Immigration either by post or through his/her new employer.

There are named exceptions. A helper may apply to change employer in Hong Kong without first going home if the original employer is unable to continue the contract due to external transfer, migration, death or financial reasons, or if there is evidence showing that the FDH has been subjected to abuse or exploitation. The same Labour Department answer warns that if a helper is suspected of abusing the arrangements for premature termination of employment contract to change employers, his/her visa application for working in Hong Kong may be refused.

When an employer dies, the contract is no longer valid on the date of his/her death. A helper who wants to keep working for the family has to submit an application for change of employment sponsored by the spouse or a family member within two weeks from the date of such termination, and the Immigration Department will process these applications expeditiously.

Timing at the end of a contract is different. An application for change of employer at the end of the two-year contract may be made in the HKSAR within four weeks prior to the expiry of the contract. The application needs a release letter from the current employer showing the date of expiry/termination of the contract, and the helper is required to go back to his/her place of origin within his/her limit of stay before returning to the HKSAR to work under the new contract, unless an extension of stay for him/her to defer the vacation leave is approved.

How Can a Helper or Employer End the Contract Legally?

Every helper in Hong Kong works on the Standard Employment Contract (ID 407), the only official employment contract for all FDHs in Hong Kong, and each Standard Employment Contract is effective for two years. Under the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) and SEC, either the employer or the FDH may terminate the contract before its expiry by giving the other party one month's notice in writing or one month's wages in lieu of notice.

Paperwork follows straight after. The employer and the helper are each required to submit a written notice to the Director of Immigration within seven days of the date of contract termination, together with a copy of the other party's written acknowledgement of the termination. Notice can go in on form ID 407E or a letter within 7 days of the date of termination, or online at www.gov.hk/fdhtermination.

Leaving with no notice at all is allowed only in narrow cases. A helper may end the contract without notice or payment in lieu if he or she reasonably fears physical danger by violence or disease, is subjected to ill-treatment by his/her employer, or has been employed by his/her employer for not less than five years and is certified by a registered medical practitioner or a registered Chinese medicine practitioner as being permanently unfit for the work. An employer may summarily dismiss a helper who willfully disobeys a lawful and reasonable order, misconducts himself/herself, is guilty of fraud or dishonesty, or is habitually neglectful in his/her duties.

Termination of employment without notice or payment in lieu of notice should be considered only under very special circumstances, and must be supported by sufficient justifications, according to the Labour Department FDH guidance.

What Is a Helper Owed When a Contract Ends Early?

Helpers enjoy the same protection as local employees under the Employment Ordinance. An employer who ends a contract must give one month's prior notice in writing or one month's wages in lieu of notice, plus other termination payments.

Those payments usually cover outstanding wages, payment in lieu of any untaken annual leave, and any pro-rata annual leave pay for the current leave year, along with any sum due under the contract such as return passage to the place of origin, food and travelling allowances. Payment in lieu of any untaken statutory holidays is also on the list.

Longer service adds more. Severance is due if the helper has been employed continuously for not less than 24 months and is dismissed, or his/her contract is not renewed by reason of redundancy. Long service payment applies where the helper has been employed continuously for not less than 5 years and is dismissed, or his/her contract is not renewed by reason other than serious misconduct or redundancy, and both are worked out as (monthly wages x 2/3) x reckonable years of services. If an employer offered in writing to renew the employment contract or re-engage his/her FDH under a new contract at least 7 days before the end date but the FDH unreasonably refuses, the FDH is not entitled to severance payment or long service payment, and a helper is only entitled to either severance payment or long service payment at any one time.

There are also five protected situations. An employer may not dismiss a helper who has been confirmed pregnant and has served a notice of pregnancy or who is on paid sick leave, and may not dismiss by reason of his/her giving of evidence or information in any proceedings or inquiry in connection with the enforcement of the Employment Ordinance or work accidents, for trade union membership or activities, or before entering into an agreement with an FDH who is injured at work for employee’s compensation, or before the issue of a certificate of assessment. An employer dismissing a helper in these situations commits an offence and is liable to prosecution and a maximum fine of HK$100,000 upon conviction (about $12,750). If money is missing, the Labour Relations Division offers free conciliation service to resolve claims under the Employment Ordinance or employment contracts.

How Long Can a Helper Stay in Hong Kong After a Contract Ends?

The window is short. Helpers are normally admitted for a period of two years or until two weeks after termination of contract, whichever is the earlier. The government's position is that helpers shall leave Hong Kong within two weeks from the date of employment contract termination or upon completion of employment contract, whichever is earlier.

Staying longer is possible only rarely. Helpers may apply to extend their stay in Hong Kong as a visitor using form ID 91, but only in exceptional circumstances may they submit such an application.

Overstaying is a crime. A helper who does not leave on time will commit an offence for breaching the conditions of stay, is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, faces a maximum fine of HK$50,000 (about $6,370) and imprisonment for up to two years, is liable to removal from Hong Kong after serving the sentence, and will not be allowed to come to Hong Kong to work as an FDH again. The employer's contract also matters here, because the contract requires free return passage to his/her place of origin upon termination or expiry of the contract.

What Does the New Minimum Allowable Wage Mean for a Fresh Contract?

The government raised the Minimum Allowable Wage for foreign domestic helpers by 2.35 per cent, from HK$5,100 to HK$5,220 a month (about $650 to $665), announced on October 2. The new level applies to all employment contracts signed on or after 3 October 2026.

There was a short changeover. FDH employment contracts signed on or before 2 October 2026 at a wage level not lower than the then prevailing MAW of HK$5,100 per month would still be processed on those terms, provided that the applications would have reached ImmD on or before 30 October 2026. The food allowance will remain unchanged at no less than HK$1,236 a month (about $158) for employers who pay it instead of providing free food.

The floor cannot be bargained down. An employer should not unilaterally impose or mutually reach a private agreement with his/her FDH on a lower wage rate, and underpaying an FDH or making false representation on wages of an FDH is liable to prosecution and imprisonment. On the employer side, a household generally needs income of no less than HK$15,000 (about $1,912) a month or assets of comparable amount for every helper hired.

What Changed for Employment Agencies?

Wong asked whether the government would consider requiring employment agencies to bear the relevant costs on a pro-rata basis when FDHs terminate their contracts without cause within the first three to six months. The government's answer pointed to the Code of Practice for Employment Agencies, revised in May 2024, which requires agencies to clearly state whether, if an FDH prematurely terminates the contract, they will provide a refund, arrange a replacement FDH or make other arrangements, and whether additional fees will be charged, an approach framed as transparency rules rather than a blanket rule to prorate costs in early‑termination scenarios in the Dimsum Daily summary of the reply.

Agencies that ignore the code may have their licences revoked or renewal refused by the Labour Department, or be issued with warnings urging rectification. Ahead of that revision, the government's plan in February 2024 was that the revised code would further require that EAs should not adopt business practices such as providing monetary incentives to FDHs in employment to induce them to terminate their employment contracts prematurely, and would require agencies to further explain to FDHs the requirements for changing employers.

For helpers, the agency rules carry direct protections. Helpers are advised to pay the prescribed commission only after you have received your first month's wages, and make sure the amount does not exceed 10% of your first month's wages. Helpers can use the Labour Department's Employment Agencies Portal, which allows the public to check if an employment agency holds a valid licence and also publishes the records of conviction of overcharging and unlicensed operation.

What This Means for Domestic Helpers, and What Should You Do Next?

The three-year total makes the headline, but the yearly split matters more. Yearly refusals in the new annex sit far below the 2021 figure, and the special duties team was still investigating cases up to October 2026. Changing jobs is not banned in itself, a point the Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions made ahead of that LegCo debate, saying the freedom to change employment is a right afforded to everyone in Hong Kong under the Employment Ordinance, and ending a contract with proper notice is a legal right for both sides. What draws a refusal is suspected abuse of the arrangement for premature termination of contract by FDHs to change employers, judged on the conduct of the FDHs, records of the FDHs and their former employers, and the reported reasons for premature termination.

That makes the paper trail the thing to protect. If you end a contract, give written notice, keep the other party's acknowledgement, submit a written notice to the Director of Immigration within seven days of the date of contract termination and keep payslips and receipts for every termination payment. If you are leaving because your employer is transferred abroad, migrates, dies or cannot afford to continue, or because of abuse or exploitation, those match the external transfer, migration, death or financial reasons and abuse cases named for changing employer in Hong Kong, so record them clearly and early. If a better offer comes mid-contract, an application can be made in the HKSAR within four weeks prior to the expiry of the contract, while a mid-contract change of employer generally means returning to your place of origin first and submitting a new employment visa application. Helpers weighing work elsewhere in Asia can compare how Thailand is handling work permit extensions for migrant workers, and why Taiwan's live-in caregivers were left out of a minimum wage rise.

Lacey Kaelani, Metaintro's CEO, puts it this way: A clean record is your best reference in Hong Kong. Write down why you are leaving, keep every receipt, and the next employer's visa has far less to question.

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People Also Asked

Q: Is it illegal for a domestic helper to quit early in Hong Kong?

A: No. Either side may end the contract early by giving one month's notice in writing or one month's wages in lieu of notice, but a helper suspected of abusing early termination to change employers may be refused a new visa.

Q: How many helper visa applications does Hong Kong refuse for suspected job-hopping each year?

A: The Immigration Department rejected 266 applications in 2024 and 93 in 2025, from 1 183 and 1 218 cases investigated in those years.

Q: How long can a domestic helper stay in Hong Kong after termination?

A: Generally up to two weeks after termination of contract, and a helper may apply to extend stay as a visitor only in exceptional circumstances.

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