HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has announced that full-time non-local undergraduate students will be temporarily exempted from the restrictions on working part-time jobs starting Nov 1.

The withdrawal of restrictions on undergraduate students will take effect one year after the government had temporarily exempted full-time non-local postgraduate students of locally accredited programs from such restrictions.

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With a no objection letter (NOL) issued by the Immigration Department, full-time non-local postgraduate students are allowed to take up part-time employment with no restrictions on the number of hours or the location of the part-time work.

The arrangement has received positive feedback since its launch, according to the SAR government.

While delivering his third Policy Address on Oct 16, Chief Executive John Lee ka-chiu announced the extension of the temporary exemption to full-time non-local undergraduate students.

“The arrangement for extending the exemption measures to around 20,000 full-time non-local undergraduate students aims at easing local manpower shortages by making better use of the potential talent residing in Hong Kong,” an HKSAR government spokesman said on Friday.

Lifting the restrictions will help attract more foreign students to pursue studies in Hong Kong and prepare them for long-term development in the city after graduation, thereby expanding the local potential talent pool, said the spokesman.

“The government will review the whole exemption arrangement next year."

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The Immigration Department will issue NOLs setting out the suspension arrangement to all eligible students through their institutions. The students do not need to submit applications separately, the government said in a statement.

Students approved for visas or entry permits on or after Nov 1 will also be issued with NOLs, it added.