How to Exit Hong Kong

Some pointers to make it easier to leave Hong Kong these days

Here's a quick rundown on how to exit Hong Kong...

Pay your tax before you leave

Come here to do all your tax paperwork

When you resign from your workplace, be sure to get a letter from the HR department about your termination of employment due to departing Hong Kong, along with the requisite IR56G, the notification form from your employer to inform the Inland Revenue Department that you will depart from Hong Kong.

Do not leave this to the last minute before you leave. Take these two pieces of paper and your HKID to the 1/F of  Inland Revenue and it's best to go before it opens at 9am. You will get a ticket and when your number is called, tell the person at the counter you are leaving and show them these letters from your company.

They will tell you to go to the 26/F, where again you queue up and get the requisite green tax form to fill out (hence the IR56G form is handy). Be sure to bring any receipts that you may have made for charitable donations to declare in this form as well.

Hand in the green form and the person may tell you come back in the afternoon.

You will need to fill out this green tax form

At that time they will give your tax bill, which you pay by going back down to Hong Kong Post on the 1/F. There will be several people in front of you with the same white piece of paper with red ink. You cannot pay by credit, only cash or debit.

When this is processed, go back up to the 7/F to get your release letter. This is important to have in order to apply to withdraw your mandatory provident fund (MPF) if you are a foreign passport holder.

All the above can be completed in one day.

Withdraw MPF

You need to say an oath that is witnessed by the Home Affairs office before you can apply to withdraw your MPF, along with the release letter.

Because of the fifth wave, this oath could only be done by appointment only. Best to go to your closest Home Affairs office and get the phone number to make the appointment -- no walk-ins allowed. It's a very antiquated way of doing this, as you cannot book online. Just press redial on your phone 30, 40 times until you get through. 

In my case the oath service was only available Monday, Wednesday and Friday at select times. You might be lucky and get the next day booking or next week. They will ask for your name and contact phone number.

On the appointed day arrive a few minutes early (there will be a queue). A person will check each person against their appointment list (hence no walk-ins allowed). Your request is processed and then an appointed person will witness you reading out a statement in English or Chinese. It is a basically a run-on sentence in legalese saying that you abide by the Oath and Declarations Ordinance, that everything you have declared in your forms are true. While I was waiting for my turn, I was given the Oath and Declarations Ordinance to read...

Oath office is around the corner on O'Brien Road

Once you have read out the oath, the witness will sign and stamp a chop on a letter saying you have completed the oath. Send this original copy to the MPF provider along with the application to withdraw your MPF from either your provider or the MPF website. 

It will ask for information about where you are moving to, your contact details and which bank account the money should be sent to.

Your MPF provider may contact you for further information; in my case it was my tax number in the country I will reside in, and I filled that in online. 

From there it should take about a month for it to be processed.

Others have told me they received two tax refund cheques from Inland Revenue.

Packing up

Purging can be a tough exercise, but when it comes down to it, try to be as ruthless as possible. Give away as much as you can to friends and family, or to charities that could use clothing, stationary, tableware, kitchenware, and so on. 

Mail as much as you can ahead of time

If you don't have any furniture, best to send back things via Hong Kong Post via ship as the cheapest option. Either find a sturdy cardboard box or use the ones sold at the post office and make sure they are secured well with packing tape. 

When you fill out the form, you will need to itemise everything in the box and put a total value on them, so best to make a list as you pack the box -- once it's sealed it's hard to remember what exactly what was in there! Around 10kg is over HK$600 which will arrive in about three months' time. So best to ship off what you don't need first.

Before I left, SpeedPost was available -- packages under 2kg could be sent in two weeks. To make sure I was under 2kg, I brought the unsealed box to weigh it before using the packing tape. The staff don't mind you weighing the box as long as they aren't busy, hence going in the morning is a good time.

You cannot mail any electronics, liquid like perfume, but something like hand cream is OK. Obviously no batteries, lighters or hand sanitiser (anything with alcohol in it). Here's the list.

Miscellaneous

If you are renting, be sure to inform providers for electricity, gas, water, etc that you are leaving and to pay up the bills. They will return the deposits to you via cheque. Same goes for settling mobile phone and internet, gym memberships and so on.

Most people will keep their bank accounts active to either receive the MPF withdrawal or to keep paying mobile phone fees while abroad to retain their Hong Kong numbers. I have heard it is harder to open bank accounts in Hong Kong now, so if you can keep a basic one open, that could be handy.

Try to complete your "bucket list" if you have one. In my case because of the social-distancing measures during the pandemic, and time was ticking fast, I was just happy to see whoever wanted to meet up. 

Departure

Check once, twice, three times to make sure you are clear of the Covid-19 requirements for your destination, as they can change suddenly. In my case from the time I booked my flight to departure rules had changed so that there was no need for a PCR test in both the transit city or the final destination.

Some countries may require you to download a specific app to input all your flight and passport information.

Even though it's all digital, be old school and print out everything. Wifi doesn't work all the time.

Hong Kong International Airport is a ghost town when it comes to services and shops. Practically all of them were closed in the check-in area, and nothing was open past security and immigration except for washrooms and free water. Bring snacks if you want to nibble on something before your flight, or eat a big meal beforehand.

If you are flying economy, be sure to get there at least three hours beforehand as there will be a big queue to check-in, otherwise those in business and first class won't have much of a wait. Be sure to pack all your electronics in your hand carry luggage, not check-in suitcases for inspection.

OK One more post tomorrow on a few of the final things I did in Hong Kong!

Cases Coming Down, Anti-Epidemic Kits Arriving

Lam presenting the anti-epidemic kits at the press conference

I'm hearing from many friends and colleagues about their experiences of contracting Covid-19 and many have no idea where they got it from.

Some said they had stayed home most of the time, only going out for groceries and other supplies. As all of them are vaccinated (Sinovac or BioNTech), many reported the sore throat was the worst part of having Covid, as some didn't even have a fever, but flu-like symptoms such as aches and pains. 

It took on average about eight days or so before they became negative, but the whole experience especially in the beginning left them exhausted and they had to rest a lot. 

People putting together anti-epidemic kits

One says since her recovery about three weeks ago, she feels like her lung capacity is not like before, while another reported losing his sense of smell and taste and it has taken a few weeks for it to return; that really worried him as he enjoys not only his food but wine too.

All these people have experienced Covid in the last few weeks and it is only now that the Hong Kong government has announced that it will distribute anti-epidemic packs to every household starting from next month and hopes to complete the deliveries within a week.

Each pack contains 20 rapid antigen tests, 20 KN95 masks, and Chinese medicine from across the border.

"Things inside are mainly resources the central government gave Hong Kong in support, to show their motherland's care and support for Hong Kong compatriots," acting home affairs minister Jack Chan Jick-chi told a press conference.

He said the packs will be handed out through the Housing Authority, building management firms, the Heung Yee Kuk and volunteer groups.

And if anyone doesn't get a pack, they can get one from collection points that will be set up later, Chan added.

Where is Hong Kong's Lion Rock spirit? 

While it's nice to know the central government cares for Hong Kong residents, how come we are only getting these supplies now when at least half the population has already been infected with Covid-19?

This would have been helpful at least three weeks ago when the number of cases were rising exponentially and items like rapid antigen kits were hard to find or very expensive. Now they can be bought at around HK$30 (US$3.83) for one test. 

But yes, we should be grateful, like Hong Kong government and health officials who reiterate their thanks over and over again to Beijing for all the assistance.

Whatever happened to the Lion Rock spirit and Hongkongers self-subsisting?

Probably not part of the "one country, two systems" mandate...

Today there were 10,401 infection cases -- the lowest drop in a month, while the number of deaths recorded in the past 24 hours was 162, and 30 backlogged.

Home Affairs Secretary Resigns Over Birthday-Gate

Tsui resigned today over attending the January 3 birthday party

The political fallout from the January 3 birthday party of Witman Hung Wai-man has resulted in one senior Hong Kong minister resigning today.

Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui Ying-wai resigned this morning, and in his letter stated he would take responsibility for his actions.

"As one of the principal officials taking the lead in the anti-epidemic fight, I have not set the best example during the recent outbreak," he wrote.

Lam said Tsui behaved in appropriately

"I made the wrong decision to attend a banquet on January 3 and behaved in an inappropriate manner when all efforts should have been devoted to controlling the spread of the virus."

Indeed -- it is his department that enforces all Hong Kong residents to use to the Leave Home Safe app! And days before the party, Tsui's colleagues in the health department had warned Hongkongers not to gather in big groups -- even though the banquet number was well within government guidelines -- it was still not a good idea to be at the event.

Due to contract tracing, when two women were found to be infected with Covid-19, it was uncovered that Tsui and several other officials and lawmakers attended Hung's party, where there were pictures of the birthday boy singing karaoke, and many of them not wearing masks.

While some officials and lawmakers came and went in less than an hour, Tsui was found to have been at the party for two hours -- but worse -- he didn't use the Leave Home Safe app!

Some experts say Hung (left) should resign too

Needless to say Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was mightily disappointed with him, and said so during a press conference Monday afternoon, the day before the Lunar New Year.

"He didn't wear a mask while chatting with others at the party. What he did was disappointing and violated the code for politically appointed officials," she said.

"Tsui was a member of the government's core team tackling the pandemic. He should have had better awareness than other officials on pandemic controls."

Lam added that politically appointed officials should not do anything to embarrass the government or cause negative perceptions among the public.

However, others who attended the party only got verbal warnings: Allen Fung Ying-lun, political assistant to the development secretary had stayed for four hours and didn't even remember if he wore a mask because he was so inebriated. 

Au seems to have escaped punishment...

Another was Vincent Fung Hao-yin, deputy head of Policy Innovation and Coordination Office, who did not comply with the compulsory testing order on the day it was issued, and was an infection risk when he returned to work the next day before going for a test.

Then there is immigration chief Au Ka-wang who also did not scan the contact-tracing app, but Lam seemed satisfied that he spent 15 minutes outside of the Wan Chai restaurant without entering.

Independent Commission Against Corruption chief Simon Peh Yun-lu also got away with punishment too, and Lam claimed he was there "to have official dealings with a private individual".

Uh huh.

So it seems Lam had it in for Tsui from the beginning. The 44-year-old was a rising star in the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, but it seems someone had to take the fall, and perhaps he was the weakest of the high-profile partying bunch.

... and so has ICAC chief Peh

Some experts say the host of the party, Hung himself should also resign from his position as principal liaison officer for Hong Kong at the Shenzhen Qianhai Authority and a city delegate to the National People's Congress because his reputation has been severely damaged.

Who's next? Stay tuned.

Top Official Sent to Quarantine After Birthday Party

Hung (left) sings at his own birthday with over 100 guests

Just as Hongkongers were dreading today would be the last day to have dinner in a restaurant before more severe social-distancing measures would be imposed tomorrow, there was news that 10 government officials attended a birthday party where a person was infected with the Omicron virus.

Over 100 people were at a party hosted by Witman Hung Wai-man, principal liaison officer for Hong Kong and the Shenzhen Qianhai Authority. Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui Ying-wai was among one of the guests and will be sent to quarantine at Penny's Bay along with Allen Fung, political assistant for Hong Kong Secretary for Development.

Lam disappointed at Tsui for attending the party

Pictures of the party at a Spanish restaurant in Wan Chai show attendees not wearing masks, and Hung holding a microphone and belting out a tune while putting his arm around a maskless woman.

At a press conference this afternoon, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor expressed her dismay at Tsui and the other officials for not following the advice of their health colleagues warning people to limit their gatherings, though she was quick to add some of the officials may have just gone to the party to pass on their greetings and then leave soon afterwards before the infected person arrived at 9.30pm.

"I am very disappointed, because this anti-pandemic work has persisted for so long, so many of us have been working so hard to fight against the pandemic, so as principal officials of the administration, we should lead by example and refrain from taking part in private events," Lam said, adding, "this is clearly a private event, and not a function required by public duty."

Tsui apologised and will be sent to quarantine

Reporters pointed out a day earlier Lam was looking into making Cathay Pacific legally responsible for its crews for spreading the Omicron variant in the community, and asked if she would bear the responsibility for her ministers for attending this party. Lam replied:

"A leader has the responsibility to lead, and should be accountable even if they are not aware of the event. However, this system of accountability does not mean that I am responsible for personal decisions a colleague of mine took."

So if taken in that context, does that mean she won't be punishing Cathay further?

Less than two hours later Tsui took to Facebook and apologised to the central government, the chief executive, the governing team, his bureau colleagues, and Hongkongers for "failing to hold fast to his position at a critical time", adding he would "reflect sincerely and deeply" during quarantine. His profile picture was changed to a black circle.

Meanwhile Lam said the government offices at Tamar would be disinfected and cleaned overnight.

Hung's birthday party invite

This fiasco is exactly the kind of thing Lam does not need right now, but how would Tsui have known an infected person was coming to the party? Nevertheless, it's about setting a good example, and Tsui may not last much longer in this administration.

Perhaps one good thing to come out of this would be for Tsui to experience first hand what it's like to quarantine in Penny's Bay and understand the hardships involved. 

Maybe then some changes will be made to the facilities there? Or are we being too hopeful?

Government App Creates Digital Divide

Government is enforcing the use of Leave Home Safe app

The Hong Kong government is desperately thinking of ways to please Beijing in order to lift the border, and the latest move is to make anyone who wants to enter a government building use the Leave Home Safe app from November 1.

That means barring them from concert venues, libraries, sports facilities, government buildings and museums. It's not clear if this will also extend to public washrooms and wet markets.

The app logs in places the user has been to

While there are some people who refuse to download the app for various reasons that range from distrust of the government to not believing in the app's effectiveness, others simply don't have a smartphone, and so they can't use the app to scan a QR code to check in and check out of any building, restaurant, hotel, shop and so on.

But NGOs are particularly concerned for those in the low-income bracket who can't afford to have a smartphone, and as a result will not be able to access the services they need.

Anne Sit Kim-ping of the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO), said she feared the homeless, who relied on freely available public facilities such as libraries and sports centres, would now be unable to enter, given that many did not own a smartphone.

The homeless also often sought help in processing aid documents from various government offices, including the Social Welfare Department, Home Affairs Department, and judicial buildings. 

"We are concerned that homeless people will find it very difficult to look for help when this new requirement sets in," she said.

Those who don't have the app can't access libraries

"During the summer months, public libraries are one of the few places where homeless people stay indoors during the day. Street sleepers also use free public access to sports centres to refill water bottles or take a simple shower."

According to government figures, the number of registered homeless people in Hong Kong rose to a record high at the end of June to 1,562, compared to 787 in 2014. The numbers of unregistered homeless people is probably even higher.

Sit estimated just 10 to 20 percent of homeless people the NGO worked with owned a working smartphone, adding that charities typically lent only basic phones that didn't have the capability to support mobile apps.

Up until now people who do not use the Leave Home Safe app in government buildings had the option of filling out their contact details on a paper form. But from November 1 that will not be available.

They won't be able to go into museums either

There are exemptions for those under 12 and over 65 years of age, and the disabled who cannot use the app. They will need to fill out their names, the first four digits of their ID cards and the date and time of their visit.

By scanning the QR code, the Leave Home Safe app logs all the places the person has been including the date and time. When someone test positive and was in the same location at the same time, they are supposed to be alerted to get tested right away.

However, by making everyone use the app, that immediately creates a digital divide for the haves and have-nots, people Sit is referring to who not only need access to government departments, but also use basic facilities. By not having a smartphone, these underprivileged people will be shut out even further from society and their dignity more profoundly affected.

Obviously the government has not thought about these people, and a solution needs to be found. Quick.