Visa hopefuls will have to declare criminal past

Domestic helpers, dependants of residents and students applying for visas and entry permits to Hong Kong will have to declare any criminal convictions starting next month, the immigration department has said, following a similar change in criteria for the government’s talent recruitment schemes.

But domestic helper unions yesterday expressed concerns the changes might slow down the application process and warned some workers could be barred from entry if they had committed only minor offences.

The Immigration Department said dependants of residents, domestic helpers, imported workers, students, trainees in the city and participants of a working holiday scheme would have to declare any criminal convictions in their past starting on June 19.

But anyone applying for an extension of stay, helpers already working in the city, including those seeking to renew their contract with the same employer and those switching to a new boss will not be affected by the changes.

“The [department] has all along been assessing each application for visa or entry permits in a rigorous manner and will adjust from time to time application procedures and information required for applications,” it said.

As part of a transitional arrangement, authorities will continue to process applications before June 18 regardless of whether criminal records have been declared or not.

Thomas Chan Tung-fung, chairman of the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies, said he had some reservations about the new requirement even though he understood the government’s rationale behind the changes.

Chan said based on his understanding, departments would include an additional entry on an existing form for domestic helper applicants asking them to tick yes or no for a question about any criminal convictions in their past. Those who ticked yes may have to provide further clarifications.

He added that the changes would be welcomed by some employers, who would feel assured their domestic helpers did not have any criminal history.

But Chan questioned whether the measure would achieve the government’s aim, as applicants could simply not disclose criminal records which were not local. He added that helpers were not coming to the city as professionals or immigrants, so such a requirement was not necessary.

“Whether the function and the actual goal of the policy are a match, this is the issue,” he said.

Eman Villanueva, a spokesman for the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, said it was a government’s right to impose requirements on the screening of applicants, but the group hoped authorities would not infringe on personal privacy by asking workers for proof of no criminal convictions, which would also involve additional time and cost.

He warned that applicants with criminal convictions, even if they were not serious offences, would face the possibility of being denied entry and employment in the city.

Lawmaker Frankie Ngan Man-yu, a labour affairs spokesman for the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said he welcomed the changes as the measure would protect society and employers.

He said any changes to the process should ensure that it remained simple, smooth and quick, adding that authorities should also carry out additional checks after people entered the city to prevent the reporting of false information.

The changes follow similar requirements introduced in February for several recruitment initiatives in the city after it was discovered that controversial mainland scientist He Jiankui was granted a work visa under the newly launched Top Talent Pass Scheme.

The biophysicist was jailed for three years in 2019 for illegal experimentation on human embryos after he created the first gene-edited babies in 2018, which he claimed were resistant to HIV.

Officials previously admitted that the scientist was not required to declare his criminal record in his application, but later made it mandatory for applicants under the scheme to disclose any convictions.

He’s visa was later revoked in February, with immigration authorities explaining that they suspected false statements had been made in his application.