Hong Kong Foreign Worker Arrivals Plummet as Covid Rules Drag On
- Number of foreign worker visas approved falls by two-thirds
- City makes attracting talent one of its top priorities
Hong Kong has been struggling with a brain drain as pandemic rules drag on while the rest of the world reopens.
Photographer: Justin Chin/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The number of visas granted to overseas workers in Hong Kong fell by about two-thirds during the Covid-19 pandemic, as stringent travel curbs severed the finance hub’s connection with the rest of the world.
Some 13,800 general employment visas were approved in 2021, compared to more than 41,000 two years earlier, according to statistics from the city’s Immigration Department.