Posted by
chinck
15 yrs ago
I want to hire a helper (a Filipino who's been highly recommended to us by friends) who's currently in a contract with another employer in HK. She's keen to come and work for us but will need to break her contract with her current employer.
Has anyone been through this and can offer any advice on how to expediate the processing of the paperwork? We want her to start ASAP.
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A helper who has not completed her contract must return to the Philippines unless she fulfills the following criteria:
1. Her contract ended because of the employer's financial situation.
2. Her contract ended because the employer was abusing her.
3. Her contract ended because her employer left HK.
4. Her contract ended because her employer died.
You can try to ask your friends, her current employers, if they would write a letter to say that they're terminating her contract because of their financial situation. And then the helper can stay in HK and process her visa here.
If you can't... then she has to go home, and you need to hire an agency to process her visa, which will cost over $2 to $3K.
So... the sooner she returns to the Philippines, the sooner you can start the visa process. Once the Immigration Department has the papers, you can email and call them and plead with them to expedite the visa.
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Thanks Slammy,
We're not friends with her current employer and there's no valid reason for ending her contract early except that she wants to come and work for us, so it looks like she'll need to go back to the Philippines.
Does anyone know if we can start the paperwork for her new contract with us before she leaves HK? Has anyone been through this and can offer advice?
From speaking with immigration I think (it was a bit hard to understand the person I was speaking to) that we can submit the new contract a couple of weeks before her current contract ends whilst she's still in Hong Kong and also to write a letter to the Dept of Immigration to plead them to expedite the process. Most contracts would be processed within 6 weeks of application. So although she'll have to go back to the Philippines, we might be able to get her back to Hong Kong a bit sooner by starting the paperwork a bit earlier.
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We are just doing this. You can hire an agency to start the paper work even before the pre agreed termination date. You can write a letter to go with the application to Hk immigration to help you expedite her new visa. It takes about 4-8 weeks from the time the papers go to immigration. But she must leave Hk and re-enter.
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Chinck, An interesting dilemma for you I should think.
As you say "there's no valid reason for ending her contract early except that she wants to come and work for us..." We can only assume therefore that you are either a lot nicer than her current employer, or offering her more money than her current employer!
So what happens when the next "nicer employer" or "more generous employer" comes along, and you thought she was happily working for you and she breaks contract to go to someone else. How will that make you feel?
Are you sure you want to employ a helper that is so fickle?
Just a thought....
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Thanks all, stephbosio which agency are you using please if you don't mind my asking?
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chinck - our helper is thai so the agency specialises in that. not sure if they are proven with another nationality. it costs $1800 to get the visa done. if you want them to include plane ticket is $3100. i'm saving some money by giving us helper a one way redemption ticket because one way tickets are always expensive.
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dnn
15 yrs ago
strephbosio, i would be very grateful if you would be nice enough to kindly PM me the contact details of the agency you mentioned earlier please. we are interested in employing a thai helper as well. many thanks!
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Hi Chinck,
I think you may need a letter from the employer to say that the employer is releasing the helper from the contract - so your helper will have to see if she can get that letter. Some employers may not give it until the final day of work.
I paid just under $3500 to an agency for the service of bringing a helper back. This paid for everything, including the full price air ticket, medical check for helper, all the visas and fees etc. Seems like a standard rate. I had tried to save money by going through Asiaxpat to find a helper... then after I tried to process the application myself, that's when I found out I need an agency. So much for trying to save thousands of dollars! hahahah
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