 |
| File photo from HK Monetary Authority |
Excessive debts will affect the Immigration Department (ImmD) decision on whether to approve a foreign domestic helper’s employment visa or extension of stay, according to Joseph Chan, Undersecretary for Financial Services and the Treasury.
Chanwas replying to questions by lawmaker Elaine Chik at
the Legislative Council on Wednesday (October 21). He had consulted the Labour
and Welfare Bureau, the Security Bureau, the Companies Registry (CR), and the
Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA),
“The Immigration Department (ImmD) has all along exercised
stringent control when vetting employment visa applications from FDHs, by
holistically considering multiple factors, including conduct and integrity,
records provided by previous employers concerning the FDHs, and reasons for
premature termination of employment contracts, etc,” he said.
 |
| DETAILS HERE |
“Previous FDH employers may provide the ImmD with reasons
for premature contract termination, including excessive borrowing, for
consideration by the ImmD when processing future applications for employment
visas or extensions of stay from the FDHs concerned,” he added.
This is one of the measures adopted by the Hong Kong government,
with various policy bureaus and departments collaborating at different levels, to
address the rising incidence of excessive personal borrowing.
“Following our public consultation, starting from August
this year, we have imposed restrictions on unsecured personal loans granted by
money lenders to low-income earners, including restrictions of income, debt servicing
ratio, total outstanding loan amount and repayment period. We have also
prohibited money lenders from requesting borrowers to provide loan referees,”
he said.
 |
| Pindutin para sa detalye |
The Labour Department (LD) also strictly regulates
employment agencies (EAs), Chan said.
“The Code of Practice for Employment Agencies (CoP)
promulgated by the LD stipulates that EAs should not provide job seekers with
information relating to personal loans, and should not advise, arrange,
encourage or force job seekers to borrow money from any institutions within or
outside Hong Kong. EAs violating the CoP may have their licences revoked or
their applications for licence renewal refused,” he added.
If organizations elsewhere are found to have engaged in
malpractices in arranging FDHs to take up employment in Hong Kong (such as
improperly coercing FDHs into taking out loans), LD will seek action from the consulates-general
of countries where the FDHs come from, he said.
 |
| Basahin ang detalye! |
“We acknowledge that publicity and education can contain problems at source,” Chan said. The LD thus collaborates with the these consulates to include information on avoiding excessive borrowing into orientation briefings organised for newly arrived FDHs.
.jpeg)
