Posted by
skye11
15 yrs ago
We just moved here and are looking into getting a DH. Coming from Europe it seems too foreign to have somebody live with you (in such a small space).
There are many DH offering part time help or full time with an "live-out" arrangement (employer paying for a boarding house.
YET: I haven't found anything official that is saying that this arrangement is LEGAL?!
Anybody who can shed dome light on this for a HK green horn?
Thanks :)
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Ed
15 yrs ago
Live out helpers are actually illegal... although many take the risk... you can hire a part time helper here http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/helpers/
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Thanks for the link Ed.
So what is the deal with the part time helpers. Are they residents?
I realize a lot of them do that kinda sorta illegally, too.
Are the ones listed on the asiaxpat website offering part time help all residents?
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Thanks Cara for clarifying!
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Not all live out domestic helpers are illegal. If permission was obtained prior to 2003 then living out is perfectly legal. If an employer obtained permission for the helper to live out before 2003 and the existing helper leaves the new helper can live out providing that they are replaced within 6 months. However in this case if you are looking for a live out and you have just arrived in HK, as mentioned above it is indeed illegal.
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Ed
15 yrs ago
Unless a helper has residency status (some obtain this by marrying a local)... if you employ them they will be working illegally... if you prefer to avoid illegal hiring you can check Sparkle and Merry Maids - both have links to their sites on that page
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"Coming from Europe it seems too foreign to have somebody live with you (in such a small space)."
Many people feel that way initially. However a DH is not a house guest. She is an employee. You don't have to be "social" with her. She works for you and you set the rules. Good helpers are skilled at being "invisible" when they need to be. So the whole living-in thing is less of a problem than one would initially think.
I recommend the book "Hiring and Managing Domestic Help" for all this stuff.
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Cara this post mentioned that all live out Domestic Helpers are illegal - not true! if you read my post you will also see that I mentioned
"However in this case if you are looking for a live out and you have just arrived in HK, as mentioned above it is indeed illegal.
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cara, that's what jj said at the end of his post...as he repeated again in his response to you...he REALIZES that NOT ALL live out domestic HELPERS are ILLEGAL, but IN this CASE, they WOULD be....
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Incorrect Cara! a Domestic Helper does not have to be a dependent or a permanent resident to live out but indeed they can be. As mentioned, even if they arrive tomorrow and they are neither a dependent or a permanent resident, as long as the employer gained permission prior to 2003 they are legal to live out.
Again Cara - "However in this case if you are looking for a live out and you have just arrived in HK, as mentioned above it is indeed illegal".
So yes you are correct that today a Domestic Helper who is not a dependent or a permanent resident will not get permission to live out - I don't disagree on this point.
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hmm
15 yrs ago
After asking this question of a somewhat exasperated employee at immigration repeatedly, he said this to me: You have a helper? Yes. You give her "breaks"? Yes. Long breaks? Yes - 12 hours. So she could go out during her free time? Yes. "So I repeat, she could go out on her break for 12 hours?" Yes. "That is all I will say."
Who is to say where she goes or what she does for her 12 hour break? Could she spend this time at a boarding house? That is up to her...
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Of course she can theoretically spend her 12 hours in a boarding house, but you must provide housing and her "primary residence" must be the same as yours.
In practice, if immigration checks and finds that she spends every night in a boarding house the "I didn't know where she went at night" defense wouldn't hold water.
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Oh my Cara! you have us all confused now!
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swimmers> basically, UNLESS you made arrangements before 2003 to have a live-out helper, that option is no longer available EXCEPT in the case where your helper is a PR or on a Dependent Visa...so in this case, as the OP is a new arrival, their only option for live-out help is a PR or Dep Visa holder...which is what jjchan has been saying all along...
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Without wishing to confuse anybody and to keep it simple, the answer is NO. Since policy was changed in 2003, all foreign domestic helpers have to live-in with their sponsor.
Forget about PR or dependant visas, as most domestic helpers in HKG are either from the Philippines or Indonesian they can never be eligible to become Permanent Residents, no matter how long they live in HKG (which is now being challenged by a judicial review by the way).
The only way a domestic helper can ever get a dependant visa is if she marries someone who either has a valid employment visa or is a permanent resident himself, and once they do that the certainly don't want to be doing domestic helper duties for anyone else.
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shoe girl, with all due respect, your first paragraph is incorrect. if a sponsor who gained the live-out exemption before 2003 now wants to hire a new helper, that new helper can live out, even if they are a first-time helper in HK. in other words, the exemption is held by the employer, NOT the helper. as long as the employer has kept a helper continuously with no break of more than 6 months, thye will retain that exemption, and any helper they subsequently hire will be allowed to live out
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Funhobby, yes, you're absolutely right. That doesn't help Skye11, though, as he's just moved to HKG.
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...which I've stated in several of the previous posts...
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