20 arrested in Immigration Department crackdown on domestic workers earning side income

2026-03-11 - 07:55

The Immigration Department has arrested 20 people in a raid targeting domestic workers working illegally, including some allegedly earning side income by providing HK$50 massage or manicure services. Immigration Department officers arresting a suspected illegal worker during an operation between March 8 and 10, 2025. Photo: GovHK. The department said that 14 workers and six employers were arrested during a three-day operation that began on Sunday, the authority said in a statement on Tuesday. Among the 14 workers, 11 are current domestic workers. The other three include a former domestic worker who overstayed in Hong Kong, an individual on a visitor’s visa, and an individual holding a recognisance form, which is typically issued to asylum seekers and those without valid visas in the city. Of the workers arrested, three individuals – two domestic workers and one visitor – were apprehended in Central during an Immigration Department sweep of footbridges and tunnels on Sunday, a day when most domestic workers are on their weekly day off. Fu Chit-ho, a senior immigration officer, told local media that the three were suspected of setting up cardboard stalls or tents to provide massages and manicure services to other domestic workers, Ming Pao reported. Immigration Department. File photo: GovHK. Initial investigation showed they brought their own tools to provide these services, charging approximately HK$50 per session. Fu said the three had been doing so for about one to two months. Separately, the Immigration Department inspected restaurants, elderly homes, shops and industrial buildings and arrested another 11 illegal workers and six employers. The workers were suspected of providing massage services, or working as dishwashers and kitchen helpers in restaurants. The six employers, who are Hong Kong residents aged 30 to 60 years old, are owners or persons-in-charge of the companies involved. Under Hong Kong law, a domestic worker can only perform domestic duties for their employer. Migrant domestic workers enjoy their Sunday holiday in Hong Kong’s public space on November 5, 2023. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. “The helper should not take up any other employment, including part-time domestic duties, with any other person. The employer should not require or allow the helper to carry out any work for any other person,” an Immigration Department spokesperson said in the statement. The Immigration Department said that offenders face a maximum fine of HK$50,000 and up to two years’ imprisonment. It also warned that hiring illegal workers is a serious crime in Hong Kong, with a penalty of a fine up to HK$350,000 and three years’ imprisonment. If the employee is an illegal immigrant or overstayer, the maximum penalty for the employer will be increased to a fine of HK$500,000 and 10 years’ imprisonment. According to the Labour Department, Hong Kong has around 367,971 domestic workers as of the end of 2024. The monthly minimum salary for domestic workers was increased to HK$5,100 last September, an amount that a migrant workers’ group criticised as “a far cry” from living wage.