By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-10-18 13:11:21 | Updated at 2024-10-18 16:24:46
3 hours ago
Hong Kong authorities will allow full-time non-local undergraduate students to take up part-time work, an arrangement only available to postgraduate counterparts previously, in an effort to help tackle the city’s talent crunch.
The government said the extension, part of the latest policy address, would take place on November 1 and could incentivise students to stay in Hong Kong upon graduation as it would equip them with the experience of working in the city.
“The arrangement for extending the exemption measures to around 20,000 full-time non-local undergraduate students aims to ease the local manpower shortage by making better use of potential talent living in Hong Kong,” a government spokesman said.
“The measure will help attract more foreign students to pursue studies in Hong Kong and prepare them for long-term development in the city after graduation, thereby expanding the local potential talent pool,” he added.
The exemption for the postgraduate students was put in place last November, with the government saying it would review the present arrangement in a year’s time after extending the scheme to cover undergraduate peers.
According to the government, the arrangement for postgraduates received “positive feedback”.
The Immigration Department will issue a “no objection letter” regarding the arrangement to all eligible students through their institutions. Students do not need to submit applications for the letter permitting them to work.
