Hong Kong expects to begin a pilot scheme for foreign domestic carers in the second half of 2027, initially involving several hundred workers. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said the plan would bring in carers with more advanced elderly-care training to support people who need help at home, but the scheme remains under development.
Applicants would have to complete at least 150 hours of training and pass an assessment in their places of origin before coming to Hong Kong. Sun said the Social Welfare Department currently provides about 1,000 subsidised places for foreign domestic helpers to learn basic elderly-care skills, with courses lasting around 10 hours. He said Hong Kong has about 380,000 foreign domestic helpers.
The government says existing courses in places that may take part do not fully meet Hong Kong’s requirements. Hong Kong-appointed professional organisations may therefore travel to participating places of origin to design and accredit courses and take part in assessments. Sun said the pilot would depend on local willingness to co-operate, and that Hong Kong would proceed only if it was satisfied with the course design, training and assessment process.
The proposed minimum wage would be 10% to 20% higher than that for ordinary foreign domestic helpers. Future pay adjustments were still being considered and might be linked to the existing helper system, so later increases would not necessarily be larger than those for ordinary helpers. The specialist carers would use their elderly-care skills in homes rather than directly compete with local staff working in residential homes and other institutions.
A separate proposal would have integrated youth service centres run community dining facilities during quiet periods, serving affordable, nutritious meals to older people living alone, households with two elderly people and people with disabilities. No target number of centres has been set, although Sun said potential donations had been offered and many centres might be able to host the facilities.
An Aberdeen pilot offered a similar respite-care arrangement: people using the centre could stay for about two hours around mealtimes, giving carers a short break. Longer stays are still being considered, and vacant markets could also be used.