The Government today (March 10) reminded foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) and their employers that the flexibility arrangements to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic will be discontinued on May 1. Employers and FDHs should discuss matters relating to employment, contract renewals or the return to FDHs' places of origin as soon as possible to avoid breaching the relevant requirements.

Taking into account the development of the pandemic and the gradual relaxation of inbound control measures, the Government announced on December 19, 2022, the discontinuation of the flexibility arrangements on May 1(www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202212/19/P2022121900349.htm). Details are set out below:

Extension of validity period of existing contracts

For all FDH contracts expiring on or before April 30, employers may apply for extending the validity period of the existing contracts with their outgoing FDHs. For such contracts, the Commissioner for Labour has given in-principle consent for extending the employment period stated in Clause 2 of the Standard Employment Contract (SEC) for a maximum period of six months, on the basis that such variation is mutually agreed upon by both the employers and FDHs concerned. However, applications for further extension of contracts which have already been extended under the previously announced flexibility arrangements will not be considered. If an employer needs to continue to employ his/her FDH beyond the six-month extended period, the employer should consider applying for a contract renewal with the existing FDH. All such applications should reach the Immigration Department (ImmD) on or before the contract expiry dates. Late submissions will not be accepted.

The flexibility arrangements on extending the validity period of existing contracts for six months is not applicable to FDH contracts expiring on or after May 1. These employers may still, according to Clause 15(a) of the SEC, vary Clause 2 of the SEC to extend the period of employment by not more than one month by mutual agreement between the employers and the FDHs, and with approval from the Director of Immigration.

Deferral of return to place of origin

Under normal circumstances, an FDH on a renewed contract with the same employer, or due to start a new contract with a new employer, upon the expiry of an existing contract, may apply to the ImmD for deferring his/her return to the place of origin for not more than one year after the existing contract ends, subject to the agreement of his/her current employer or new employer.

If the aforementioned one-year period expires on or before April 30, the FDH may submit an application to the ImmD within eight weeks prior to the expiry of the existing limit of stay to further extend the limit of stay until the end of his/her contract. All such applications should reach the ImmD on or before April 30. Late submissions will not be accepted. The Government reminds employers and FDHs that the above flexibility arrangements must be mutually agreed between them, and that the requirement of FDHs returning to their places of origin remains in force. Employers should arrange for their FDHs to return to their place of origin within the extended limit of stay.

If the aforementioned one-year period expires on or after May 1, the period for them to return to the place of origin will not be further extended. Employers should arrange for their FDHs to return to their places of origin within the current limit of stay and then return to Hong Kong within the validity of the entry visa issued to the FDHs for completion of the contract.

The Government urges employers and their FDHs to discuss matters relating to employment, contract renewals or the return to FDHs' places of origin as soon as possible. They should also be mindful of the limit of stay and the passport validity of the FDHs and arrange applications for visas and replacement of passports in advance.

For enquiries on FDH visa applications, please contact the ImmD by calling the enquiry hotline at 2824 6111 or by sending an email toenquiry@immd.gov.hk. For enquiries on employment rights and benefits of FDHs, please contact the Labour Department (LD) at the dedicated FDH hotline at 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.

Having assessed the latest epidemic development, the Government announced today (February 28) that all mandatory mask-wearing requirements will be lifted with effect from tomorrow (March 1), thereby enabling the society to resume normalcy in full.

Hong Kong has already built up a strong immunity barrier, coupled with the enhancement of prevention and treatment capacities of the healthcare system and the handling capacity of society as a whole. The risk posed by COVID-19 to local public health has apparently altered. Having gone through three years of COVID-19 epidemic, various monitoring indicators in epidemic activities are recently on a steady downward trend and the winter influenza season is also coming to an end. In addition, the community is in strong aspiration to resume full normalcy as early as possible. In the light of the aforementioned factors, the Government has decided to lift all mask-wearing requirements with effect from tomorrow.

Starting from tomorrow, citizens will no longer be required to wear masks mandatorily onboard a public transport carrier, or within an MTR paid area, or in a specified public place (including both indoor and outdoor areas), as well as in premises regulated under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F).

Mask-wearing is still an effective way to reduce the risk of virus transmission while protecting the wearer and others. In order to continue to protect the high-risk groups, citizens entering certain venues such as medical facilities or residential care homes for the elderly or residential care homes for persons with disabilities still need to follow the administrative mask-wearing requirement. The Government appealed to the public to wear a mask when having respiratory symptoms. Persons with weakened immunity or chronic disease(s) should also wear a mask when they are present in a poorly ventilated place.

A Government spokesman said, "The Government will keep on monitoring closely the epidemic development and the overall operation of the public healthcare system, with a view to safeguarding public health."

The Government will publish in the Gazette the notice to suspend the relevant specification and directions issued under Cap. 599F and the Prevention and Control of Disease (Wearing of Mask) Regulation (Cap. 599I) to implement the aforementioned relaxation measure.

The Government announced today (December 28) that starting from tomorrow (December 29), the pre-departure testing arrangements for all inbound persons will be standardised and all nucleic acid testing requirements after their arrival at Hong Kong will be lifted. Inbound persons are advised to conduct daily rapid antigen test (RAT) until Day 5 after their arrival at Hong Kong.

To fully leverage Hong Kong's strengths in connecting with the world and to prepare for the resumption of travel with the Mainland, the Government will further streamline inbound control measures starting from 0.00am tomorrow on the premise of striking a balance between risks and economic impetus. Details are as follows.

Standardising pre-departure testing requirements

All inbound persons (aged three or above on the date of arrival at Hong Kong), regardless of being from the Mainland, Macao, Taiwan or overseas places, are required to conduct an RAT within 24 hours, or undergo a polymerase chain reaction-based nucleic acid test within 48 hours, prior to the scheduled time of flight departure (for those entering Hong Kong via the airport) or the scheduled time of arrival at Hong Kong (for those entering Hong Kong via other boundary control points), and obtain a negative result for entering Hong Kong. Upon receiving the test results, relevant persons should keep the photos showing the test results or the test report for 90 days for presentation for checking on request by Government personnel. They may also voluntarily declare the test result via the Department of Health's electronic health declaration form.

Lifting post-arrival nucleic acid testing requirement

Starting tomorrow, the Government will also lift all existing nucleic acid testing requirements applicable to inbound persons, including:

(1) Lifting the nucleic acid test under the "test-and-go" arrangement on the day of arrival (Day 0) at the airport and on Day 2 after arrival at Hong Kong for inbound persons from overseas places or Taiwan

(2) Lifting the nucleic acid test on Day 2 after arrival at Hong Kong (and an additional nucleic acid test on Day 1 after arrival at Hong Kong for those who have stayed in any place on the List of At-Risk Places within the Mainland or Macao under the Return2hk / Come2hk Scheme) for inbound persons from the Mainland or Macao

After the aforementioned nucleic acid testing requirements have been lifted, relevant inbound persons who had already arrived at Hong Kong today or earlier will no longer be required to undergo the relevant post-arrival nucleic acid tests according to the original requirement.

Health advice on conducting RATs after arrival at Hong Kong

The Government continues to advise all inbound persons to conduct daily RATs using self-arranged RAT kits during the period between the day of arrival (i.e. Day 0) and Day 5 after arrival at Hong Kong.

The handling arrangements for inbound persons tested positive align with that for local cases. Relevant persons should provide information to the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health through the online platforms (for nucleic acid tests or RATs) as early as possible. For further details, please refer to the webpage on Points to Note for Persons who Tested Positive.

Cessation of the Provisional Vaccine Pass arrangement

In alignment with the cessation of implementation of the Vaccine Pass arrangement under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Vaccine Pass) Regulation (Cap. 599L) by the Government, the arrangement for inbound persons to obtain a Provisional Vaccine Pass will cease.

The requirement for non-Hong Kong residents to be fully vaccinated for boarding a flight to Hong Kong from overseas places will remain unchanged for the time being.

The Government will gazette the relevant specification notices under the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap. 599C), the Compulsory Quarantine of Persons Arriving at Hong Kong from Foreign Places Regulation (Cap. 599E) and the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) to effect the above measures.

The Government will continue to suitably adjust anti-epidemic measures based on scientific analyses of data. While safeguarding the well-being of citizens and protecting the public healthcare system, the Government also seeks to reduce the disruption to normal social activities with a view to achieving the greatest effect with the lowest cost.

The Government today (December 19) announced that the flexibility arrangements to assist foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) and their employers to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic will be discontinued on May 1, 2023.

A Government spokesman said, "In order to assist FDHs and their employers to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has since early 2020 implemented a series of facilitation measures for FDHs and their employers, including the flexibility arrangements of allowing an extension of the validity period of existing employment contracts and a deferral of FDHs' return to their places of origin. The Government has closely monitored the development of the pandemic to review and adjust the measures. Taking into account that flights between Hong Kong and major FDH-sending countries have gradually resumed after the lifting of the place-specific and route-specific flight suspension mechanisms on April 1 and July 7 respectively this year, the lifting of the compulsory quarantine requirement on arrival in Hong Kong with effect from September 26, as well as the gradual relaxation of inbound control measures, the Government has reviewed the situation and decided to discontinue the abovementioned flexibility arrangements from May 1, 2023 onwards. To allow sufficient time for FDHs and their employers to make corresponding arrangements, the following flexibility arrangements announced today will be implemented until April 30, 2023. The Government reminds employers and FDHs to discuss matters relating to employment, contract renewals or the return to FDHs' places of origin as soon as possible to avoid breaching the relevant requirements."

The flexibility arrangements are set out below:

Extension of validity period of existing contracts

For all FDH contracts expiring on or before April 30, 2023, employers may apply for extending the validity period of the existing contracts with their outgoing FDHs. For such contracts, the Commissioner for Labour has given in-principle consent for extending the employment period stated in Clause 2 of the Standard Employment Contract for a maximum period of six months, on the basis that such variation is mutually agreed upon by both the employers and FDHs concerned. However, applications for further extension of contracts which have already been extended under the previously announced flexibility arrangements will not be considered. If an employer needs to continue to employ his/her FDH beyond the six-month extended period, the employer should consider applying for a contract renewal with the existing FDH. All applications should reach the Immigration Department (ImmD) on or before April 30, 2023. Late submission will not be accepted.

Deferral of return to place of origin

Under normal circumstances, an FDH on a renewed contract with the same employer, or due to start a new contract with a new employer upon the expiry of an existing contract, may apply to the ImmD for deferring his/her return to the place of origin for not more than one year after the existing contract ends, subject to the agreement of his/her current employer or new employer. Under the relevant flexibility arrangement, 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 the employer, apply to the ImmD for a further extension of the limit of stay until the end of his/her contract such that he/she may return to the place of origin within that period.

If the aforementioned one-year period expires on or before April 30, 2023, the FDH may submit such application to the ImmD within eight weeks prior to the expiry of the existing limit of stay to further extend the limit of stay until the end of his/her contract. All applications should reach the ImmD on or before April 30, 2023. Late submission will not be accepted. The Government reminds employers and FDHs that the above flexibility arrangement must be mutually agreed between them, and that the requirement of FDHs returning to their place of origin remains in force. Employers should arrange for their FDHs to return to their place of origin within the extended limit of stay. For FDHs with the aforementioned one-year period expiring on or after May 1, 2023, the period for them to return to the place of origin will not be further extended.

In addition, the Government reminds FDHs and potential FDH employers that, in accordance with the prevailing FDH policy of the Government, an FDH shall leave Hong Kong upon completion of an employment contract or within two weeks from the date of contract termination, whichever is the earlier. Save for exceptional circumstances deemed reasonable by the ImmD (including the premature termination of contract owing to the transfer, migration, death or financial reasons of the original employer, or where there is evidence that the FDH has been abused or exploited), an application from an FDH for a change of employer in Hong Kong within the two-year contract period will normally not be approved. An FDH who wishes to have a new employer must leave Hong Kong and submit a fresh employment visa application to the ImmD.

The Government appeals to members of the public to submit visa applications for FDHs and further employment of FDHs through online means, including through the ImmD mobile application. Through the electronic services for visa application and an "e-Visa" arrangement implemented by the ImmD, members of the public can complete the entire process of the visa application, including application submission, payment and "e-Visa" collection. They may also enquire about the application status and submit supplementary documents and notification of premature termination of an employment contract via a dedicated "Online Services for Foreign Domestic Helpers" webpage set up by the ImmD at www.immd.gov.hk/fdh. The whole process does not require them to visit an office of the ImmD in person to go through the formalities, which is both convenient and time-saving.

The Government also urges employers and their FDHs to be mindful of the limit of stay and the passport validity of the FDHs and arrange for applications for visas and replacement of passports in advance.

For enquiries on employment rights and benefits of FDHs, please contact the Labour Department (LD) at the dedicated FDH hotline at 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, please contact the ImmD by calling the enquiry hotline at 2824 6111 or by sending email to enquiry@immd.gov.hk.

The Labour Department (LD) today (December 8) reminded foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) and employers that the Government will adjust the inbound control arrangement for overseas inbound persons with effect from December 9 (Friday).

An LD spokesman said, "Currently FDHs are required to undergo nucleic acid tests on the date of arrival at Hong Kong and on Day 2 after arrival. They have to take a rapid antigen test (RAT) every day until Day 7 after arrival in Hong Kong, and can only leave the place of stay after obtaining a negative result. Starting from tomorrow, FDHs coming to work in Hong Kong on or after December 2 are only required to undergo daily RATs until Day 5 after arrival. The testing requirement of undergoing nucleic acid test upon arrival and on Day 2 after arrival remains unchanged. In view of the conditions of individual families, the Commissioner for Labour has given in-principle approval for employers to choose to arrange FDHs to stay at licensed hotels or guesthouses during those five days. It is not necessary to make an application to the LD. If employers arrange FDHs to stay in licensed hotels or guesthouses, they should bear the accommodation expenses and provide food allowance to FDHs for that period."

As for FDHs arriving Hong Kong before December 9 and are still staying at licensed hotels or guesthouses for the three-day medical surveillance and four-day self-monitoring, they are allowed to continue to stay at the hotel or guesthouse for not more than seven days to complete the surveillance and monitoring. The list of licensed hotels and guesthouses can be found here.

If an FDH cannot work in his/her employer's residence as a result of the employer's arrangement to have the FDH stay at a licensed hotel or guesthouse during the above-mentioned period, the employer should pay the FDH a sum equivalent to the remuneration that the FDH would have earned if he/she had worked for that period.

Upon arrival, FDHs are subject to Amber Code restrictions under the Vaccine Pass. They can work at the employers' residence and go out to conduct daily essential activities of lower risk, e.g. taking transport, entering supermarkets and markets, etc., though they are not allowed to enter high-risk premises involving mask-off or group activities, as well as other premises requiring key protection (For details, please click here). Upon receipt of consecutive negative test results, the FDHs' Vaccine Pass will be changed to Blue Code on Day 3 after arrival at Hong Kong.

Separately, the requirements of inbound FDHs presenting a proof of negative result of a RAT conducted within 24 hours prior to the scheduled time of departure and completing the online Health & Quarantine Information Declaration of the Department of Health (www.chp.gov.hk/hdf) prior to boarding a flight remain unchanged.

For details of the above arrangement, please refer to the press release issued by the Government on December 8 (www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202212/08/P2022120800701.htm).

The dedicated FDH portal (www.fdh.labour.gov.hk) of the LD also provides information and useful links relating to inbound control arrangement for FDHs. Should there be enquiries on the inbound control arrangement for FDHs, please contact the LD through its 24-hour hotline at 2717 1771 (manned by 1823), by email to fdh-enquiry@labour.gov.hk or through the online form on the dedicated portal (www.fdh.labour.gov.hk).