Employers can make use of the special arrangements introduced by the Government to allow their current foreign domestic helpers to continue to stay in Hong Kong to take care of their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Responding to questions from legislator Paul Tse at the Legislative Council today, Secretary for Labour & Welfare Dr Law Chi-kwong explained measures put in place by the Labour and Immigration departments to help foreign helpers and their employers cope with the pandemic.

They included allowing employers to extend the validity period of the existing contracts with their outgoing helpers for up to three months, and further extending the special arrangement for helpers to defer their return to their place of origin.

In general, helpers may apply for a one-year deferral for returning to their hometown, subject to agreement with their employers.

During the pandemic, if a helper is still unable to return to his or her place of origin within the first one-year deferral, he or she can apply to the Immigration Department again for a further extension of their stay until the end of the contract, before returning.

If newly-hired helpers are temporarily unable to come to Hong Kong due to the pandemic, or the current helpers cannot return home, employers can make use of the special arrangements.

More than 300,000 applications for further employment of helpers have been approved from January 2020 to May 2021 by the Immigration Department, including those filed under the special measures.