Hong Kong’s Legislative Council spent part of its sitting on 21 January grilling the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Chris Sun, on whether foreign-labour admissions are undermining opportunities for local residents. In a detailed written reply, Sun revealed that the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) has already been tweaked twice since September 2025 to cool the appetite for inexpensive overseas hires in food-and-beverage outlets. Applications for waiters, waitresses and junior cooks dropped from a monthly average of almost 370 before the changes to about 260 afterwards, while approvals for junior cooks tumbled by nearly 45 per cent.(info.gov.hk)
Sun stressed that “employment priority for local workers” remains non-negotiable. Since the ESLS launch in September 2023 the Labour Department (LD) has fielded 832 complaints, ranging from displacement of existing Hongkongers to non-compliance with manning ratios. Twenty-four employers have already been punished with suspended or revoked hiring privileges.(info.gov.hk)
To navigate these shifting rules, firms can tap VisaHQ’s Hong Kong specialists, who streamline work-permit applications, monitor ESLS quotas and flag regulatory changes in real time. Details: https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/.
![Hong Kong pledges tighter gate-keeping of imported labour to protect local jobs]()
Enforcement against illegal work has also intensified. Immigration Department figures show nearly 20,000 raids in 2025, netting 1,264 employers and 19,980 illegal workers; most offenders were active in catering and renovation. Convicted workers served jail terms of up to 23 months, while employers paid fines as high as HK $100,000 and in some cases were jailed for up to 19 months.(info.gov.hk)
Business-mobility managers should note that more paperwork and longer recruitment lead times are now baked into the ESLS. Employers seeking junior kitchen staff must attend weekly job-centre fairs and prove a 2:1 local-to-imported staffing ratio for every post. The LD made clear it will not hesitate to widen these requirements to other categories if abuse continues.
Looking ahead, a mid-term Manpower Projection is under way, with preliminary results promised for late 2026. Sun said the data will feed directly into an ESLS review slated for the first half of next year, hinting at further tightening if the labour market softens.
Sun stressed that “employment priority for local workers” remains non-negotiable. Since the ESLS launch in September 2023 the Labour Department (LD) has fielded 832 complaints, ranging from displacement of existing Hongkongers to non-compliance with manning ratios. Twenty-four employers have already been punished with suspended or revoked hiring privileges.(info.gov.hk)
To navigate these shifting rules, firms can tap VisaHQ’s Hong Kong specialists, who streamline work-permit applications, monitor ESLS quotas and flag regulatory changes in real time. Details: https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/.
Enforcement against illegal work has also intensified. Immigration Department figures show nearly 20,000 raids in 2025, netting 1,264 employers and 19,980 illegal workers; most offenders were active in catering and renovation. Convicted workers served jail terms of up to 23 months, while employers paid fines as high as HK $100,000 and in some cases were jailed for up to 19 months.(info.gov.hk)
Business-mobility managers should note that more paperwork and longer recruitment lead times are now baked into the ESLS. Employers seeking junior kitchen staff must attend weekly job-centre fairs and prove a 2:1 local-to-imported staffing ratio for every post. The LD made clear it will not hesitate to widen these requirements to other categories if abuse continues.
Looking ahead, a mid-term Manpower Projection is under way, with preliminary results promised for late 2026. Sun said the data will feed directly into an ESLS review slated for the first half of next year, hinting at further tightening if the labour market softens.
