Immigration again extends contracts, cancels home leaves for FDHs

By The SUN

 

FDH contracts expiring by Sept 30 may be extended for up to 3 months

Hong Kong Immigration has again allowed foreign domestic helpers and employers to extend their employment contracts for up to three months amid continuing travel restrictions brought about by the pandemic. 

At the same time, those whose visas are expiring and would under normal times be required to go back to their home country before taking up a new job or after renewing a contract, will be allowed to extend their stay until the expiry date of their current contracts.

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In a statement released today, Jun 28, the government said the extension of visas and work contracts are measures aimed at helping both workers and employers cope with the Covid-19 pandemic.

All contracts expiring on or before Sept 30 this year may be extended for a maximum of three months, based on the mutual agreement of the worker and the employer. This means it cannot be extended if either party disagrees to the extension.

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However, as before, contracts which have already been extended under the previous flexibility arrangement announced in March, will no longer be extended again. In this situation, the employer should either apply for a contract renewal of their existing worker, or release her/him.

“It is an employer's duty to make advance preparations to arrange for their newly hired FDHs to come to Hong Kong within the three-month extended period of employment of their existing FDHs and/or arrange for contract renewal with their existing FDHs,” said the statement.

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As for extending the employment visas of FDHs who are due to return home for their “home leave” or end-of-contract vacation, Immigration says their visas may be extended up to the end of their current contract.

“If an FDH is unable to return to his/her place of origin within the aforementioned one-year period, he/she may, upon agreement with his/her employer, apply to the ImmD for a further extension of limit of stay until the end of his/her contract such that he/she may return to the place of origin within that period,” said the statement.

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The last time Immigration allowed this visa extension was on Dec 30, 2020.

But again, such an extension will be granted only if both the employer and the worker agree to such an arrangement.

“The government reminds employers and FDHs that the above flexibility arrangement must be mutually agreed between the employer and the FDH, and that the requirement that FDHs should return to their place of origin continues to be in place,” said the statement.

It added that the government will continue to close monitor the situation and review the two measures when necessary.

Indonesian DHs have been stopped from leaving for Hong Kong since Jun 25 

Currently, passengers from the Philippines or Indonesia, the two places where most of the FDHs come from, are not allowed to board a flight to Hong Kong, both having been specified as “extremely high-risk” countries for the coronavirus. Thus, even if workers are able to leave for their home countries, there is no assurance of when they could come back.

Because of the flight ban, newly hired domestic helpers from the two countries are also not able to assume the job waiting for them in Hong Kong. Philippines-based workers have been unable to leave since Apr 20, while the ban on passenger flights from Indonesia took effect on Friday last week.

Enquiries on employment rights and benefits may be directed to the dedicated Labour Department hotline, 2157 9537 (manned by 1823) or by email to fdh-enquiry@labour.gov.hk. The dedicated FDH Portal (www.fdh.labour.gov.hk) set up by the LD also provides information and useful links relating to the employment of FDHs.

For enquiries on FDH visa applications, contact Immigration by calling the enquiry hotline at 2824 6111 or by sending email to enquiry@immd.gov.hk.

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