HK Visa Applicants Must Soon Declare Any Convictions

People coming to work or study in Hong Kong will soon have to declare any criminal convictions as part of their visa application, the government announced on Wednesday.

The new rule – for applications received after June 18 – will affect foreign domestic helpers and other workers, students, those coming for training or a working holiday, as well as people hoping to get a dependant visa.

The move comes after the authorities introduced a criminal record declaration requirement for a talent admission scheme in February. This followed a controversy over the initial acceptance of biophysicist He Jiankui who had been jailed on the mainland for illegal medical practice linked to gene editing in babies.

Helpers already working in Hong Kong and others already in the city who apply to extend their stay won’t be affected by the new requirement.

Eman Villanueva from the Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body said the new requirement will not make a big difference because there are currently similar procedures in the Philippines and Indonesia when people go overseas.

But he also said the requirement may make the hiring process more complicated.

"If the Hong Kong government would require proof coming from agencies, then that would probably cause a problem because there would be an additional documentation that will be required from the applicants," he told RTHK.

"That would probably be an added burden, not only in terms of inconvenience and time, but also involving additional expenses to the applicants, and probably even to employers."

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