Renewing your helper’s contract in Hong Kong: forms, home leave, air ticket and timeline

Last updated: 7 October 2026. Checked against Immigration Department, Labour Department and other official sources; where a rule changes, the official source prevails.

Your helper's two-year contract is ending and you both want to continue. In Hong Kong that is not an automatic extension: a renewal is a fresh visa application with a new Standard Employment Contract (ID 407), plus a trip home for the helper that you pay for. Done in the right order it takes a few weeks of light admin. Done late, it can leave your helper without permission to stay. This guide follows the Immigration Department's (ImmD) own steps.

Renewal at a glance

When to apply: ImmD normally accepts the application within the 8 weeks before the current contract expires.
Forms: ID 988A (completed and signed by the helper), ID 988B (completed and signed by you) and the original of the new ID 407 contract.
Processing: normally finalised within 10 working days after ImmD has all the documents.
Home leave: the helper returns to her place of origin before the new contract starts, return fare paid by you — or, if you both agree, she defers the trip for up to a year.
New minimum wage: a renewal contract signed on or after 3 October 2026 must pay at least HK$5,220 a month.

Step 1 — Agree the new terms (about 3 months before the end date)

Talk early. The points to settle with your helper are:

Salary. Not less than the Minimum Allowable Wage in force on the day you sign. From 3 October 2026 that is HK$5,220 (see our MAW 2026 guide for the 30 October transition).
Home-leave dates and whether the vacation is paid or unpaid. The Labour Department notes the vacation leave between contracts is not less than 7 days, and whether it is paid depends on what the contract says. It is in addition to annual leave.
Take leave now or defer it (see Step 4).
Any change to duties, household members or address. These go into the new contract's Schedule of Accommodation and Domestic Duties.

Step 2 — Sign the new ID 407

The renewal uses a brand-new Standard Employment Contract. ImmD does not let you download a blank one for submission — request it from ImmD (by email to enquiry@immd.gov.hk or from an Immigration office). In clause 2 choose:

2(A) if your helper takes home leave before the new contract starts; or
2(B) if she renews with you and defers home leave.

Sign enough originals for everyone who needs one: you, the helper, ImmD and the helper's consulate (Filipino helpers' verification office asks for two original sets). For a field-by-field walk-through see how to fill in ID 407, ID 988A and ID 988B.

Step 3 — Submit to ImmD inside the 8-week window

You can apply online via GovHK, by post or drop-in, or in person by appointment (details on ImmD's FDH page). You need:

ID 988A completed and signed by the helper;
ID 988B completed and signed by you;
the original of the new ID 407;
the helper's passport (original if in person, or a copy of the personal-particulars page, photo, validity and her latest landing slip / e-Visa);
proof of your finances and address — not required if your household income is still not less than HK$15,000 a month per helper and your address has not changed (ImmD may still ask for more).

Do not miss the end date. ImmD will not accept a renewal application submitted after the contract and the helper's limit of stay have expired. The date that matters is the limit of stay on her landing slip or e-Visa, not the contract end date. If her stay has not expired she may keep working while the new visa is processed; once it has expired she must not.

Step 4 — Home leave now, or defer it?

Under clause 13 of the standard contract the helper returns to her place of origin for a vacation, with the return fare paid by you, before the new contract begins. Normally she goes home after the old contract finishes and comes back on the new visa.

If that timing does not work for your family, you can agree to defer the trip. The helper applies for an extension of stay (ticked on ID 988A, with your agreement on ID 988B), normally up to one year, and must take her home leave within that year. She then re-enters on a visa issued for the rest of the contract (ImmD waives that visa fee). No further extension is allowed within the contract period, so book the trip in good time.

Step 5 — Approval, fee and e-Visa

ImmD sends the result by letter or email with a payment link. After paying online you can print the e-Visa straight away. ImmD's fee table lists HK$330 for an ordinary visa and for an extension of stay in the “others” category (rates revised on 8 September 2025). Under clause 8 of the contract, renewal costs — ImmD fees, the consulate's notarisation fee for the re-engagement contract and similar items — are yours; if your helper paid them, reimburse her against receipts.

Step 6 — The consulate step

Filipino helpers: the Migrant Workers Office Hong Kong (MWO-HK) verifies renewal contracts. Its current checklist asks for two original sets of the contract, copies of your and the helper's HKIDs with contact numbers written on them, her passport (original and copy), a printed copy of the new e-Visa and the OWWA information sheet — so this step comes after ImmD approval. MWO-HK says verified contracts are ready the same day.
Indonesian and other helpers: ask the helper's consulate for its current requirements before you sign — ImmD itself advises employers to check consulate requirements first.

Step 7 — Ticket, allowance and the trip home

You provide the return passage and a food and travelling allowance of HK$100 per day for the journey. The Labour Department recommends buying the air ticket (with basic checked luggage) rather than handing over cash, and confirming the departure date and destination with your helper before you book. Our Q&A on home leave and return passage covers the common questions.

A sample timeline

When	What
12 weeks before end date	Agree salary, leave dates, defer or not
9–8 weeks before	Get blank ID 407; sign contract, ID 988A, ID 988B
8 weeks before (window opens)	Submit to ImmD (online is quickest)
About 2 weeks after submission	Result + payment link; print e-Visa
After e-Visa	Consulate verification (e.g. MWO-HK for Filipino helpers); book flight
Contract end date	Home leave starts (or new contract starts, if deferred)

What carries over — and what you pay if you don't renew

Staying with the same employer keeps her service continuous. Paid annual leave rises with length of service — 7 days for each of the first two years, then one more day for each further year up to 14 — so after her third year of service she is entitled to 8 days.

If you decide not to renew, check what is owed. The Labour Department says severance payment is due when a helper employed continuously for 24 months or more is dismissed or not renewed by reason of redundancy (for example, you no longer need a helper), and long service payment applies after 5 years where non-renewal is for other reasons (except serious misconduct). You never pay both. See severance vs long service payment and run the numbers in the termination calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How early can I apply to renew my helper's visa?

ImmD normally accepts the application within the 8 weeks before the current contract expires.

How long does a renewal take?

Same-employer renewals are normally finalised within 10 working days once ImmD has all the documents, though it depends on the case and the volume of applications.

Do I have to send income proof again?

Not if your household income is still not less than HK$15,000 a month for each helper and your address has not changed. ImmD may still ask for documents in individual cases.

Must my helper go home between contracts?

Yes, that is the normal rule under clause 13. With mutual agreement she can defer the trip by applying for an extension of stay of normally not more than one year, and must take the leave within that year.

Who pays the air ticket for home leave?

The employer — plus a food and travelling allowance of HK$100 per day for the journey.

Can we just extend the current contract by a few weeks instead?

Only in exceptional circumstances, normally for not more than one month, and not as a substitute for a renewal — ImmD requires an undertaking that no renewal with the same helper will follow.