Step 3 — Employment Agency License Application
If you’re looking to start a recruitment agency in Hong Kong, you must apply for an Employment Agency license. This involves 2 steps:
- Approval of your recruitment company’s brand name
Submit an application to the Hong Kong Labour Department to approve your company’s name. This is a quick, easy step and is crucial for starting a recruitment agency.
2. Submission of documents to the Labour Department of Hong Kong
The application should be made only by the director on behalf of the company, and a nominated operator (director or employee) should be appointed by the company as well.
Note: You would have to attend a short interview at the time of document submission
Required documents for submission to the Labour Department:
- Employment Agency Application (EAA) for License (L.D. 184 (S))
- EAA for License Supplementary Form (EA-F21)
- ‘Particulars of Employment Agencies to be Displayed at Employment Agencies Portal’ Form (EAP-F1)
- ‘Particulars of Associate of Employment Agency’ (with Authorisation) (EA-LOA)
- Certified true copies of:
(i) Business Registration Certificate, Certificate of Incorporation and Articles of Association of the company
(ii) Incorporation form (NNC1) / Annual Return (NAR1)
(iii) Notification of first secretary and directors
(iv) Notification of change of Directors and Secretaries (ND2A, ND2B), if applicable
(v) Hong Kong ID Card / passport and a recent passport photo of each of the directors and the nominated operator of the company
(vi) Document signed by all directors confirming the appointment of nominated operator
Processing Time:
The application process usually takes 2–3 weeks. Upon successful application, a license fee of HK$2000 must be paid to the Labour Department prior to issuance of the license, which will be valid for one year from the date of issuance.
Fees on each application:
- HK$2,000 — issuance or renewal of license
- HK$385 — issuance of a duplicate licence
Note: This applies for each of the branch offices
3. HK$155 — any alteration to a licence brought by a change of place, addition or cessation of branch offices of the business.
Find out more : Labour Department Guide for operating an Employment Agency
Stay tuned to this simple yet informative 5-step blog series to find out the 4th step to starting your own recruitment company in the quickest way possible!
Get in touch with Castle Peak Recruiter Hub if you want to get your business up and running in just 1 step!
