Hong Kong Office Life
Jon Mariano

It rained here in Hong Kong today. When it rains, people don't want to walk far to get their lunch. When that happens, the queue in nearby restaurants and food stalls are so long you wouldn't want to waste your time waiting with a lot of hungry people.

One of the things Hong Kong brags about is the industriousness of its people. I can see that myself first hand. Hong Kong's professionals are real professionals that they would even sacrifice family affairs and events for the call of duty. To a fault they really do.

Office workers don't want to be the first one to leave the office. If the office hours are 9 to 6, it's impossible to catch anybody punching the clock on the dot. More often than not, the first one to go punches out at least 6:15. It doesn't matter whether all has been done and nothing else left to do for the day.

This antagonism to being the first to go is pervasive. Me being an example of it too. I don't like it, but I don't want to rock the boat!

If you're used to having your lunch at 12:00 noon, you'll definitely suffer starvation for one hour here in Hong Kong because we have 1:00 as our lunch break. I had a hard time getting used to it, but I am now.

The question for many in the Philippines would be: How do get to work as a professional in Hong Kong? There are some ways that I know of.

1.) Work for a company that has a branch in Hong Kong, or one whose base is in Hong Kong. When an opportunity arises for an opening and you're qualified, apply for it. Some have been picked to work here, that's the easiest way and the best way because you get to decide whether you want to come or not. Not all want to work far from their home country and family.


    Opportunity to become a Hong Kong Resident thru employment.

    When an opportunity like this happens, your company will sponsor for your working visa and once that is approved and you start working here, you become a Hong Kong resident. That's not the same as permanent residency; it just means that you are residing in Hong Kong, or that you're living in Hong Kong (just like me, an OFW living in HK!).

    After 7 years of residing here, you can then apply for the Right of Abode (ROA) or the equivalent of permanent residency.

    The working visa usually lasts for 1 year and renewed every year and in addition, you can only work for the company that sponsored it for you. It doesn't stop you though from looking for other employments although you start from the beginning where your prospective employer will apply for your visa. The good thing is that the counting of the 7 years for applying for the ROA does not. If you have 7 employers and you worked for them 1 year apiece, you have already satisfied that requirement. Usually though, you only stay with the same employer until you acquire permanent residency.



2. Marry a local resident. This is very famous in the United States and other western countries including Canada, London, and in Europe. It is also here. In fact there are scams done by some Filipinas here where they've been found to have paid some locals for a sham marriage. Some have been caught by the police.


    Opportunity to become a Hong Kong Resident thru marriage.

    With the approval of the Immigration Department, a dependent can work in Hong Kong.

    When you're married to a Hong Kong resident, you can apply for a dependent's visa. Depending on the Immigration Department of Hong Kong, it's either 1 month validity first, then 3 months the next, then co-terminus with your spouse's working visa. If you stayed here together for the same period of time, you can apply for the permanent residency together.

    If your spouse is already a permanent resident upon your application of a dependent's visa. You may still go through the 1 month, then 3 months, then 3 years affectivity of the dependent visa.

    After 3 years of continuous residency in Hong Kong as a dependent (of a Permanent Resident), you can change your status to "Unconditional Stay". This allows you to be independent from your spouse's visa. Meaning you can deal with the Immigration Department without sponsorship or support from your spouse. Where can this be advantageous? I don't know. Maybe when you get separated or divorced before you become a permanent resident.



3. Become an investor. If you have 6.5 million Hong Kong Dollars and you're interested to live here in Hong Kong, read on from this link.


Wherever it is that you work, the concept is the same: Work to live, don't live to work!

Article Source:

http://hkbigmind.blogspot.com/

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