Hong Kong Tightens Rules on Hiring Foreign Workers Under Revised Labour Scheme

Under Hong Kong’s revised Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS), which took effect on 17 June, employers seeking to hire foreign workers for technician-level or lower positions must now wait six months before reapplying—unless it’s a contract renewal.

The updated rules cap imported worker contracts at two years, reinforcing the government’s aim to provide greater job stability for local employees. At its core, the ESLS prioritizes local employment and seeks to curb the displacement of Hong Kong citizens by cheaper foreign labor.

Stricter hiring procedures are expected to extend recruitment timelines and increase labor costs, pushing companies to compete more aggressively for local talent. Human resource teams will need to coordinate closely with operations to plan workforce needs well in advance, as subsequent applications for imported workers will be much harder to process under the new framework. This shift is likely to affect both workforce planning and operational agility.

Employers are now required to report the number of full-time local workers alongside imported staff. A 2:1 ratio in favor of local employees will be enforced, with the Labour Department verifying the accuracy of these submissions. This added scrutiny aims to ensure that local candidates are not bypassed in favor of foreign hires.

The ESLS, introduced in September 2023, allows companies to import workers for lower-level positions when genuine local hiring difficulties arise. From its inception through March 2025, more than 54,000 positions were approved under the scheme.

Employers who clear the initial screening must undergo a mandatory four-week local recruitment period before turning to foreign hires. During this time, their job listings will be publicly displayed on the Labour Department’s website to attract local applicants.

While it is still too early to fully assess the impact of the revised rules, international parallels may offer insight. A 2015 U.S. regulation on nonimmigrant workers, which aimed to protect domestic labor, resulted in an estimated US$2.25 million in added costs within the first year, largely due to recruitment and compliance requirements. Hong Kong’s updated ESLS may follow a similar trajectory.

Even a modest influx of foreign labor in service-heavy sectors—where local shortages are most acute—could distort wages and create competitive disadvantages for employers relying primarily on local talent.

To stay ahead, companies should focus on making roles more attractive to local workers through competitive compensation, clear career progression, and partnerships with vocational institutions for internships and apprenticeships.