Expatriate wives in Hong Kong are to be allowed to go back to work after the government yesterday announced a U-turn on a policy that barred spouses from looking for jobs.
In 2003, the government announced that dependents of expatriates living in the former British colony were no longer entitled to seek work unless they fulfilled a role no local employees were capable of.
The controversial policy was widely criticized by Western companies who said it turned people off moving to Hong Kong and made it harder for them to hire quality recruits.
Yesterday, deputy secretary for security Michael Wong announced the policy had been reversed under a government drive to attract more overseas professionals to the city of 6.8 million.
The policy of not allowing dependents -- who can also be husbands -- to work was introduced in the turbulent post-SARS period when Hong Kong unemployment hit an all-time high of around 8 percent.
Since then, the economy has rebounded sharply, unemployment has fallen and property prices have spiralled as Hong Kong enjoys it's highest levels of prosperity since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Wong, speaking on government-run radio station RTHK, said: "There were a lot of views reflected to the government that this [policy] created a huge disincentive for Hong Kong companies to attract the talents they need. Before people agree to take up a job offer in Hong Kong they look at all the circumstances, one of which is whether their dependent can work in Hong Kong. If we say `Yes they can work provided he or she meet certain criteria,' that creates uncertainty compared to other countries which say `Yes, they can work immediately.'"
Hundreds of thousands of expatriates, including around 40,000 Americans and 25,000 British citizens, live and work in Hong Kong, which combines high salaries and low tax with some of the world's highest living costs.
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