Important
🌏 Life in Hong Kong
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Can you work while you are studying?
Yes, but only four categories of activity, and you must have an NOL. Get the rules wrong and you are working illegally, with visa consequences.
The conclusion first: four permitted categories
The student visa carries a work restriction. CityU's part-time work and internship page states that non-local students (in Hong Kong in a student capacity) may work in these four categories:
| Category | What it covers |
|---|---|
| On-campus part-time work | Part-time work within the institution where you are studying |
| Summer work | 1 June to 31 August each year |
| Internship | An internship related to your study or programme |
| Other | Other activities listed in the NOL |
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Any work outside these categories may breach your conditions of stay. The consequence is not merely "losing points" — breaching visa conditions is recorded and affects future visa and residence applications. Ask before you take the job.
The key is the NOL
- NOL stands for No Objection Letter, issued by the Hong Kong Immigration Department.
- It sets out what work you may do. Without an NOL, or doing work that is not within what the NOL lists, you are in breach.
- You normally receive the NOL together with the student visa; if you do not, or you lose it, ask CityU's Admissions Office or the Immigration Department about a replacement.
On the hourly cap
- Hong Kong's rules on part-time work by non-local students are set out on the Immigration Department's student visa page, and are adjusted from time to time.
- CityU's part-time work and internship page lists only the permitted categories, and does not state a weekly hourly cap on that page.
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That is why this site does not print a "X hours per week" figure — the official page does not give one there, and repeating a number from memory is an easy way to be wrong. Check the Immigration Department's page, or confirm the currently effective hours with CityU's Admissions Office.
Internships have to be "related"
- What is permitted is an internship related to your study or programme.
- In other words, an internship unconnected to your major or your programme requirements is not necessarily within the permitted category.
- Credit-bearing internships arranged by your college normally fall within the permitted categories; for a commercial internship you find yourself, check with CityU first.
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Tip: when looking for an internship, the safest order is "confirm that this internship is within the NOL and recognised by the programme → then sign". Do it the other way round and you may sign something you then cannot do.
Practical advice on part-time work
- Do not rush into a job in your first semester. English-medium teaching plus a Cantonese environment is tiring enough on its own.
- On-campus work (library, administrative support and similar) has more controllable hours and avoids extra commuting and compliance issues — usually the steadiest place to start.
- Summer work (1 June to 31 August) is the most generous window of the year and can be planned as a block.
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Tip: if parents are thinking "let them earn a little on the side", explain the four categories and the NOL clearly first. Hong Kong enforces visa conditions more strictly than the Mainland, and the cost of a breach is far higher than part-time earnings.
Official sources
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