Striving ahead with technology to bring quality public housing
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Queue-free Smart Renewal service for further employment of foreign domestic helpers
Immigration Department
The COVID-19 epidemic is wreaking havoc around the world. As a result, public awareness of personal hygiene and social distancing has been substantially raised. To maintain efficient public services under this new normal, ImmD introduced the “Smart Renewal” service in March 2021. This new service enables persons who submit online applications for visas for further employment of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) to pay the visa fee through electronic means upon approval of their applications and collect the visas by registered mail.
In 2020, ImmD received over 300,000 applications for employment visas for FDHs, of which over 60% were for working with the same employer. In the past, persons who submitted this type of applications were required to, upon approval of their applications, pay the visa fee and collect the visa in person or through an authorised representative at an office of ImmD which inevitably involved social contact—increasing the risk of virus transmission.
With the “Smart Renewal” service, the public can now pay the visa fee with the General Demand Note by various means, such as the Faster Payment System (FPS), Internet banking, Payment by Phone Service (PPS), automatic teller machines (ATMs) or in person at post offices or convenience stores, after which the visa will be sent via registered mail to their home address. This new service is convenient, saves time, reduces unnecessary travel and avoids having to queue up in crowded places. Furthermore, ImmD can flexibly deploy human resources to meet the demand for counter services in offices of ImmD, thus effectively fighting against the virus and further enhancing service standards. In addition, ImmD has set up a dedicated webpage “Online Services for Foreign Domestic Helpers” (www.immd.gov.hk/fdh), via which the public can apply for various employment visas and extension of stay for FDHs in a more convenient way.
At the end of June 2021, more than 21,500 persons applying for visas for further employment of FDHs paid the visa fee and collected the visa labels using the “Smart Renewal” service. Since the launch of the service, the percentage of online applications of this nature has doubled from 15% before the service launch to almost 30% by the end of June 2021. Given the positive public response to the new service, ImmD further extended the scope of the “Smart Renewal” service in July 2021. Apart from online applications for visas for further employment of FDHs, the new service is now also applicable to these applications submitted by post or through drop-in box, providing greater convenience and supporting the Government’s social distancing measures effectively.
The fight against the virus and implementation of appropriate and sufficient anti-epidemic measures are a race against time. Staff of ImmD stood united under tremendous work pressure and, with their professional knowledge, were highly responsive to the ever-changing circumstances. Coupled with the support from the public, the “Smart Renewal” service was successfully rolled out in a short period of time. In the long run, ImmD plans to introduce e-Visa to spare the need for persons applying for visas for FDHs (including new applications) to attend an office of ImmD for going through the formalities.
This year marks the 60th Anniversary of ImmD. The department will build on its past successes, strive for excellence in the future and forge onwards together with Hong Kong citizens.
