How to Get an NOL in Hong Kong
to work in HK with a student visa
I recently got an opportunity to work in Hong Kong during the non-summer months as a part-time intern. However, I soon found out that the student visa doesn’t allow students to work in Hong Kong during the non-summer months (except for June July and August). But to pay for my living expenses, there is no giving up.
I found out that I can get an NOL (a No Objection Letter) to work and make money with my student visa. However, there weren’t enough information online to guide international students to get one. I was just told from the company, the Immigration department and the faculty that I already have an NOL when I got my student visa, and that I’m allowed to work only during the summer months.
This is how you get it and the documents you need.
1. First, send tell your company that you’re staying in Hong Kong with a student visa before signing your contract. Signing the contract could require your visa (a copy of your latest landing slip), your HKID card, and your passport.
2. Get a copy of the contract signed by both yourself and the company.
3. Send an email to your university faculty asking for an endorsement letter for the NOL. Specify that you want to work during the non-summer months. Also attach your contract, student ID, passport, latest landing slip, and HKID. You don’t want to omit any documents, because getting a reply from the faculty usually takes upto a few working days.
4. Go to the Immigration Tower in Wanchai with the required documents printed out. You can walk in without making appointments.
Pretty easy, right? Now this is a list of documents you need to bring to the Immigration Tower.
1. your HKID
2. your passport
3. a copy of your HKID
4. a copy of your passport
5. a copy of your latest landing slip: this is the small paper they slip into your passport when you enter Hong Kong. Staple it to a page of your passport and make sure you don’t lose it by any chance!
6. a copy of the contract
7. an endoresement letter from the faculty
Now that you have prepared all the required supporting documents, go to the Immigration Tower in Wan Chai and bring the documents in hard copies, since no softcopies are accepted. If you forgot to print them out, there is a place called Fotomax nearby where you can print things out.
Go to the first floor (not the ground floor) and find the queue for Enquiries counter and get in. Don’t get in the queue for the Forms counter or for the Mailing counter since they don’t know about NOLs, and will make you go back and forth from the Mailing counter to the Forms counter.
At an Enquiries counter, tell them you’re applying for an NOL and show them your documents. They will ask you what passport you hold, so tell them your nationality. They will tell you to go up to another floor, which could differ by your nationality. For Korean passport holders, it’s the 5th floor, so you can skip queueing for the Enquiries counter and go straight to the fifth floor.
Once you arrive on the fifth floor, visit the Reception counter. They will give you an application form, which applies for both NOLs and visa extensions. You don’t have to fill out the secrions for visa extension. Just fill out the personal particulars page which is the first page and the upper half of the second page. Don’t forget to write your email address correctly, since that is how you get the NOL. Go to the third page and check organisation as your visa sponsor. Write your university name as your visa sponsor name.
After filling out the form, go back to the reception counter. They will review your documents and send you to another queue by giving you a slip of paper that tells you the colour of the queue you have to get in. In my case, it was green.
Now you are in the final step of getting an NOL. An officer will review your documents and ask you some questions. After reviewing your documents, they will give you a confirmation slip. Keep the slip and you will receive the NOL within 2 weeks via email.
I wish you all good luck in getting your NOLs and good luck in your interships / part-time jobs!
