[bowler16]

I went to Hong Kong last week and I feel in love with the city. I planned on coming back and this time to work there. I'm from the Philippines and here I'm currently employed in a credit card department of a local bank for 4 years. Problem is i don't know where to begin to realize my plans. I started applying for jobs in the internet but they require a working permit. Where do I begin first? Please help me, I'm planning to look for a job there and settle as well. Thank you.

[PDLM]

I'm afraid you're really going to struggle. It is not easy for any junior employer to get a visa for Hong Kong unless you have some very special skills. And, regrettably, it seems to be harder for Filipinos to convince Immigration of their skills than some others

There are fundamentally only 5 ways that I can think of for Filipinos to get work in Hong Kong:
1) be a highly qualified professional working for a Philippines multinational (PLDT, Metrobank, etc) and get transferred to their office here
2) be a domestic helper
3) marry someone who is either a HK Permanent Resident or who is here on an Employment Visa
4) come on a 3-6 month "entertainer" visa (this can mean anything from fairly high class bands in 5-star hotels down to prostitutes in Wanchai brothels)
5) if your English is really very good indeed then you might be able to get a job as an English Language teacher.

Good luck!

[looking@HK]

Originally Posted by bowler16

I went to Hong Kong last week and I feel in love with the city. I planned on coming back and this time to work there ......

Welcome to the club!!!!

[michael106]

come on a 3-6 month "entertainer" visa (this can mean anything from fairly high class bands in 5-star hotels down to prostitutes in Wanchai brothels

Prostituion is legal in HK? no wonder i saw so many of those massage parlor flyers down in Nathan rd, Tsim sai Tsui.

On a serious note, which sites do u go online to search for jobs???

[PDLM]

Yes, prostitution is legal in HK (as in many countries) but running a brothel isn't. There is however a fairly well-defined arrangement which the police allow to exist here in HK where the prostitutes are employed as "dancers" in the bars and the punters are charged very large amounts of money for drinks after which the mama-san (brothel manager) will allow the girls to leave with the punter.

This was recently illustrated in the case of the two guys who died of drug overdoses in the Grand Hyatt - on the witness stand the brothel manager managed to keep a straight face (and no lawyer seemed inclined to dig) when describing how the guys had earlier that evening been charged about HK$8000 for about 4 shots of whisky in his brothel.

There's a whole heap of people involved in the trafficking of the girls into this trade - occasionally some of the smaller fry are nabbed and put away for a while, but the big investors seem to be beyond the reach of the law somehow.

[KnowItAll]

>> no lawyer seemed inclined to dig

The barristers / solicitors were probably investors in this gig, if its the bar that I think would have been involved in this case.

[PDLM]

The SCMP reported that the bar was "Show Biz".

Of course, the girl who had been trafficked in to work as a prostitute there was prosecuted, but the brothel managers and owners were not charged with anything at all.

Quite why the ICAC doesn't get in and sort out this whole sordid business is beyond me. Are they in the pocket of the crime syndicates as well?

[bowler16]

Thanks for the advice. Well I may really struggle cause I have no talent, my special skills might not be convincing to them but if I'd switch jobs here I'm sure I'll land another job easy but for HK I think it's a different story.

[bowler16]

Thanks for the advice. Well I may really struggle cause I have no talent, my special skills might not be convincing to them but if I'd switch jobs here I'm sure I'll land another job easy but for HK I think it's a different story.

I usually go to jobstreet.com, jobsdb, monster and asianexpat.com to search for jobs. actually, i personally email employers and forward resumes to them.

Well I sure hope I would get a job soon.

Anyways thanks for the help. Should you have more advices please post them. Thanks again.

[yuri78]

hello,

have u considered graduate studies as a way of transition? it's not cheap, and takes a lot of time, but is somewhat assured way to move. graduates from fulltime master's programs have one year upon graduation to stay in hong kong to look for a job.

especially with your finance background you may need an MBA or M.Fin just by definition (if you haven't got one already). there's a whole bunch of schools around so the chances of being admitted are quite sizeable.

schools are trying to bring more cultural/ethnic diversity into their classes, so having a different background may be an asset. speaking another european language like spanish goes very well with schools, recruiters and employers alike...

i did my mba here and wanted to stay in town so much, but i have to leave for a different reason. i feel that chances to find a job with a local degree are very good.

good luck man!

yuri