Work Visa renewals
 

Very strong rumor going around again that immigration advise all airlines in HKG that foreigner work visas will only be renew for 3 months first time then subsequently no renewal.

this was from yesterday 3 March. So picture changed again

Most of the iCadets have been running on the 3 month renewals without issues so far. If it changed yesterday things are going to hit the proverbial quickly. Both CX and UO will have major problems in the ranks once flying happens if this is the case. A large number of crew are still not PR.

Any word on PR not being handed out anymore? I haven't heard much about it lately.

Perhaps if those Pilots wanting a visa were to pledge their loyalty to the "Chinese-ruled city’s mini-constitution and dedication to the government" it might help ?

How many are affected by this decision?

Anyone that hasn’t been here up to around six years. I hear they are giving 12-18 months to those that need it to get to the seven.
I don’t know how many that is. Your guess would be as good as mine.

Any CX SO/FO on a work visa thinking that they might get a type rating or a CCQ or whatever to those new shiny NEO's, while hundreds of locals from KA, basically type rated, sitting at home, almost ready to go - are in a for a big surprise!

There is no way that CX can justify to immigration/government/call it what you want to spend the training cost for new type ratings while you have a skilled workforce sitting at home. Bye Bye work visa.

Better giddy up those hundreds of locals sitting at home are expiring soon.

Funny you mention it, CX didn't do anything to help us stay current.

Hong Kong Airlines is renewing our AR/IR these days.
Tells you a lot about the company you work for and how much they care about people.

Expiring? Elaborate?

bacou

Cathay aren't keeping the majority of their own pilots current, neither are most airlines we are in the middle of the largest downturn that aviation has ever seen. Why even bother paying HKA to revalidate your license? It's useless without actual recent flying hours and if and when hiring picks up the world over everyone will be in the same boat in terms of expired ratings and lack of recent actual flying. If it were me I'd save my money..

I think it’s you that’s in for a big surprise. Exactly what you speak of is already very discreetly well underway.

LLQNH

You're right if you're only applying to jobs in HKG. However if you send to other countries they will need a Valid (less than 1 year old) HKG AR/IR to be able to transfer it to their license.
On top of that the HKG CAD temporary authorisation to renew AR/IR as it says is temporary, you can't take for granted that it will last for as long as you need it or that HKA will still be willing to renew KA ratings in the future.

It's little money to avoid big troubles, I advise everybody to stay current (less than 1 year) on their ratings.

I think you misunderstood. They were doing a jumbo conversion. :D​​

AdB29

Company spending money on training its existing staff has nothing to do with the Government per se...

But all matters aside, why do you insist everyone who thinks local job rights should be protected are young guys who live at home? did Dragonair not have local guys (local being anyone with a PR ID) with family or young kids? Which place in the world provides protection for non-local workers instead of local workers with the same skillset? When someone goes to another city/country on a TEMPORARY work visa, they take the risk of it being TEMPORARY, nothing is guaranteed, they knew it from the first day. So don't go blaming a local for fighting for a job in their own city/country, they have every right to do it, just like every worker in Australia/UK/Canada/US has about protecting their work rights in their respective countries....

Mmm I am not so sure in this case. Did CX not have a huge bailout from the Government and put someone on the board? Maybe the Government would like to see their money spent wisely? Instead of spending training cost on a temporary work visa while they have a local trained workforce?

No AdB29 - it was not "our own company" - it was YOUR company - Cathay Pacific (that by the way hardly any KA pilot trusted), who fired us - while YOUR company will take our airplanes and routes and let YOUR junior crew with no PR operate them instead. It was not OUR own company. Jeez, even "our" CEO and DFO was sacked by CX!

As for UO - they are now as much part of the Cathay group as KA was. They will also take KA routes and aircraft. With respect to loyalty, contribution to the CX group and time spent building up the success that was indeed HKG aviation pre-covid, I think locals (and as "hyg" very neatly and correctly points out - not necessarily cadets staying at mum and dad's place, but very senior pilots with 20 plus years in HKG aviation, kids, families, homes in HKG, PR) deserve to fly those jets before South Americans or iCadets with 2 years contribution to the HKG workforce.

In a new world where you signed away from seniority by joining COS18, PR-status might well be one of the fair ways of upholding some sort of "seniority" in as much as who has contributed most to the Cathay Group or Hong Kong aviation in the past;
An iCadet on work visa with no particular affiliation with HKG who will shortly be flying the ex-KA Neos around Asia? Or a senior pilot, ethnicity aside, who has contributed 25 years to what made KA such a strong and succesful airline and who has his or her home here in Hong Kong with family and friendships build up locally?

It would suit you to be a bit more humble and having less prejudice about the "locals" who were just thrown under the bus by YOUR airline, and who are simply standing up for what is fair in THEIR home country.

AdB29

How do you know foreginers are not asking for protection? Plenty of "foreginers" I know are seeing Hong Kong as their home and is fighting for their right to local jobs ahead of people who do not have PR.

"you don't destroy one job to save another" - maybe tell that to your employer? They seem to be experts at it. Not that they are doing much to protect the jobs they destroyed from us.

Good luck with it all.

Because of your word, i have decided to go after those expat pilots(everyone has HK PR is considered local)

thanks for reaching out!
🤗

Errr.. You think this actually matters to the accountants?

Haha, no way it does - I have had enough time in the industry to know that.
I did however think that seniority mattered, but oh well, another blow to the industry in general. It's becoming the gift that keeps giving.

I just thought I would include that in my reply to the young AdB29 as he bluntly stated:

"They have been paying their dues for years and ”contributing to society” but now that will all go to waste because some young boy who still stays with his parents ran to legco because his beloved company cut his job. (Guess they didn’t care about you as much as you thought)"

- about the pilots coming up to their PR, i.e. less than 7 years in the Cathay Group pilot seats.

By contrast, I wanted to show that quite a few Hong Kong pilots - western or local - with PR have contributed 25 years or more to build a succesful and strong airline - and IMHO should have a place in the future of HK aviation in front of non-local pilots on short-term work visas.
THESE guys have paid their dues for years and "contributed to society".

To further add that their "beloved company" cut their jobs - is just plainly insulting. The whole termination package had Cathay Pacific and green colours smothered all over it with letters of "Dear Colleague" from managers no-one in KA had ever heard of.
Thanks also to AdB29 for assessing my attitude based on a discussion forum and linking that to whatever the future may hold for me in aviation.