Hiring a domestic helper in Hong Kong: the rules, the contract and the real cost

Hiring a live-in helper is an everyday part of family life in Hong Kong, but you become an employer with real legal duties, and the government sets most of the terms for you.

The short version

• To employ a foreign domestic helper (FDH), your household normally needs an income of at least HK$15,000 (about £1,420) a month, or assets of similar value [1].
• For contracts signed on or after 3 October 2026, the Minimum Allowable Wage is HK$5,220 a month (about £494), up from HK$5,100 [2][4].
• If you don't provide free food, you pay a food allowance instead. A law firm reported it unchanged in 2026 at around HK$1,240 (about £117) a month; the Standard Employment Contract from the Labour Department sets the exact amount [4][3].
• Everyone signs the government's Standard Employment Contract (ID 407), for two years, and the helper must live in your home [1].
• You must provide free medical care and compulsory employees' compensation insurance, plus weekly rest days, statutory holidays and paid leave [3].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = HKD 10.5659).

Why so many Brits do it

Back home in Blighty, a live-in nanny is something for the very well-off. In Hong Kong, helpers are common across ordinary working households, and many British families find it's what lets both parents keep working in a city with long office hours.

It isn't a casual arrangement, though. The Immigration Department vets you as an employer, the Labour Department sets the minimum terms, and breaking the rules can stop you hiring again [1].

Can you be an employer?

The Immigration Department looks for three things [1]:

• Income or assets. A household income of at least HK$15,000 a month, or assets of comparable value, to cover the whole two-year contract. The government can change this figure.
• Residence. You must be a bona fide Hong Kong resident with no known record of breaking the rules. New arrivals on a work visa can usually hire once they're settled.
• A suitable room. The helper must live at your registered address and have suitable accommodation "with reasonable privacy" [1].

The live-in rule is strict. Only employers approved before 1 April 2003 to let helpers live out can keep doing so [1]. With the size of a typical Hong Kong flat, that's the first practical question: many flats have a small helper's room off the kitchen, and families without one have to work out a private space before they apply.

The money: wage, food and the rest

Contracts signed at HK$5,100 on or before 2 October 2026 can still be processed if the Immigration Department received the application by 30 October 2026 [4]. The figure is a floor, not a going rate: you're free to pay more, and experienced helpers often ask for it.

There's no employer levy any more (it was abolished, though any overdue levy still has to be paid) [1], and domestic employees working in a home are exempt from the Mandatory Provident Fund [6].

Your duties as an employer

The Standard Employment Contract and the Employment Ordinance set the minimum [3]:

• Rest days and holidays. A weekly rest day and all statutory holidays. Easter Monday became a statutory holiday from 2026 [2]. If your helper works on a statutory holiday, you must give at least 48 hours' notice and arrange another day off within 60 days before or after; paying cash instead isn't allowed [3].
• Paid annual leave. After 12 months, starting at 7 days a year and rising to 14 [3].
• Free medical treatment. Including consultations, hospital care and emergency dental treatment, for the whole contract [3].
• Employees' compensation insurance. This is compulsory, and you must report work accidents to the Commissioner for Labour within 14 days (7 days if fatal) [3].
• Maternity protection. Eligible helpers get 14 weeks' paid maternity leave, and you can't dismiss a helper who has told you she's pregnant [3].
• Domestic duties only. Driving isn't part of domestic duties, and needs the Director of Immigration's permission [3]. There are strict rules on cleaning outside windows above ground level: the grille must be locked or secured, and only the arms may go past the ledge [3].

One more thing that trips up new employers: if you use an employment agency, the most it can charge the helper is 10% of her first month's wage, and only after she's been paid [3]. Anything beyond that isn't allowed.

Hiring, step by step

1. Check you qualify: income, residence and a private space at home [1].
2. Find your helper, through personal recommendation, a licensed employment agency or a helper finishing a contract with another family (with a release letter) [1].
3. Sign the ID 407 contract, with the wage at or above the Minimum Allowable Wage on the date of signing [1][2].
4. Submit the visa application: the helper fills in ID 988A and you fill in ID 988B [1].
5. Wait about four to six weeks for a new application once all documents are in; renewals are normally done within 10 working days [1].
6. Pay the visa fee once approved, online or in person [1], and arrange the flight and insurance.

When the contract ends, or ends early

The standard contract runs for two years [1]. At the end, your helper normally goes home for a holiday before starting a new contract, and you pay the return fare; by mutual agreement she can ask to put that off, normally by up to a year [1].

Ending early is more involved:

• Either side can end the contract with one month's written notice or a month's wages in lieu [3].
• Both of you must tell the Immigration Department within seven days, using form ID 407E, a letter or the online form [1].
• You pay any untaken and pro-rata annual leave [3]. After 24 months there may be a severance payment if the job ends through redundancy, and after five years a long service payment, both worked out as two-thirds of monthly wages for each year of service [3].
• A helper whose contract ends early normally gets two weeks to leave Hong Kong, and changing employers mid-contract isn't normally approved: the Immigration Department watches for "job-hopping" [1].

If your family is leaving Hong Kong, plan the timing. Helpers often line up a new family before you go, which needs your release letter and works best with notice.

Good to know

Time a helper spends working in Hong Kong doesn't count as ordinary residence, so it never leads to permanent residence, however many years she stays [7]. For many families the relationship lasts a decade or more, and many helpers become very much part of the household.

Sundays in Central, when crowds of helpers gather on their day off, will be one of your first Hong Kong sights. Treat your helper's rest day as properly hers.

For first-hand tips on contracts, rest-day arrangements and insurance, ask in our community group for Brits in Hong Kong. And for the wider picture of family costs, see our guide to the cost of living in Hong Kong.

Sources

1. Immigration Department: Employment of foreign domestic helpers
2. Labour Department: Foreign domestic helpers portal (checked 8 November 2026)
3. Labour Department: Foreign domestic helpers FAQ (checked 8 November 2026)
4. Lewis Silkin: Hong Kong increases minimum allowable wage for foreign domestic workers (8 October 2026)
5. Immigration Department press release: revised fees from 8 September 2025 (25 June 2025)
6. MPFA: MPF coverage and exempt persons (reviewed 20 July 2026)
7. Immigration Department: Meaning of terms (ordinarily resident) (page dated 8 April 2026)

Keep reading

• Cost of living in Hong Kong vs London and the UK average
• Renting in Hong Kong
• Schools in Hong Kong: British and international schools
• Moving to Hong Kong as a Brit: visa and residence routes