Hong Kong gov’t dismisses unemployment concerns among nurses, says non-local hires ‘very small’ in number
Hong Kong authorities have defended its policies on hiring non-locally trained nurses, saying that they are “very small” in number following complaints about the import of non-local workers causing unemployment. The government said in a statement on Tuesday that Hong Kong’s public hospitals have always prioritised the hiring of locally trained professionals. It added that […]
Hong Kong's government has dismissed concerns over unemployment among local nurses, asserting that the number of non-local hires is "very small." The government maintains that public hospitals in Hong Kong prioritize hiring locally trained professionals. As of the end of 2025, non-local trained registered nurses accounted for less than 0.5% of all registered nurses in the city, and the majority were part of short-term exchange programs, not long-term employment.
This response was sparked by a resident, a locally trained psychiatric nurse, who complained on a radio program about many fresh nursing graduates remaining unemployed after graduation due to the Hospital Authority's preference for non-local nurses, particularly those from mainland China. Health Secretary Lo Chung-mau refuted these claims, stating that there are no non-local psychiatric nurses in Hong Kong and that 2,100 registered nurses applied for jobs at public hospitals in 2025, with 99% of them getting hired.
Tse Kin-keung, chair of The Association of Hong Kong Nursing Staff, expressed skepticism about the government's statistics but agreed that local recruitment should be prioritized, suggesting a slowdown in the hiring of non-local nurses. Hong Kong introduced a series of measures to facilitate non-local nurses' employment in hospitals and residential care homes, including allowing them to work without a licensing exam since 2024.
The government has also created three pathways for non-local nurses to work in Hong Kong: special registration/enrollment, limited registration/enrollment, and temporary registration/enrollment, though these do not lead to full registration. In 2025, the Hospital Authority received over 3,700 applications for long-term service posts from non-local nurses, issuing 101 job offers, with the majority coming from China.
Additionally, Hong Kong participates in an exchange program for mainland Chinese and overseas doctors and nurses, with 450 GBA medics arriving in Hong Kong for exchange in March, including 310 nurses.
Written by urgent.news from Hong Kong Free Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
