Hiring a Japanese Chef in Hong Kong: GEP, ESLS and 2026 Rules

Hong Kong has one of the largest Japanese communities in Asia and a long established Japanese dining scene. Its immigration system has no chef visa as such. A restaurant bringing in a Japanese chef uses a professional route for senior people or a labour importation scheme for cooks, and the second one was tightened for catering jobs in June 2026. This guide covers both, as of September 2026.

1. Hong Kong in numbers

• 23,228 Japanese nationals lived in Hong Kong on 1 October 2025, up 1.5% on the year. It is the tenth largest Japanese community of any city abroad (MOFA).
• Japan's agriculture ministry counted 1,480 Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong in 2025, up 80 on 2023.
• MAFF counts Hong Kong and Macau separately from the People's Republic of China. The mainland figure (63,500, down 15,260 since 2023) and the Hong Kong figure move very differently, so do not read the headline China decline as a Hong Kong trend.

2. Three routes, and which one fits which role

Do not overlook the third column. Under Immigration Department policy, dependants of GEP entrants are not prohibited from taking up employment. The spouse of a Japanese professional working in Hong Kong may already be a trained cook with work rights.

3. General Employment Policy: the head chef route

The GEP is for people with "special skills, knowledge or experience of value to and not readily available in" Hong Kong. It is quota free and not tied to any sector. Mainland Chinese residents use a different scheme; Japanese nationals are eligible.

The Immigration Department may favourably consider an application where:

• there is no security objection and no serious criminal record;
• the applicant has a good education background, normally a degree, but in special circumstances good technical qualifications, proven professional abilities and/or relevant experience and achievements supported by documents may be accepted;
• there is a genuine vacancy that cannot readily be filled locally, with a confirmed offer relevant to the applicant's experience; and
• the remuneration package (income, accommodation, medical and other benefits) is broadly commensurate with the market level for professionals in Hong Kong.

Most Japanese chefs do not have a degree, so the second point is the whole case. The application has to show why this chef is not replaceable locally: years at named restaurants, the position held, specialist skills (fish butchery, kaiseki, a particular regional style), awards or press, and why your concept needs them. Build the file as a portfolio, with translated references.

Practical details: processing normally takes four weeks after all documents and the fee are received. Since 26 February 2025 the GEP is a "specified scheme" with an application fee of HK$600 per applicant and a visa issuance fee of HK$1,300 where the permitted stay is more than 180 days. Successful applicants normally get an initial 36 months or the contract length, whichever is shorter, then extensions on a 3 then 2 year pattern.

4. Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme: cooks, with new limits from June 2026

The Supplementary Labour Scheme was enhanced and renamed ESLS after the Chief Executive in Council endorsed changes on 13 June 2023. It lets employers with genuine difficulty recruiting locally import workers at technician level or below.

The Labour Department's List of Common Posts (revised 22 June 2026) includes Cook (Japanese Cuisine) under non-Chinese catering, with a median monthly wage of HK$19,670, 9 normal working hours a day, and entry requirements of Secondary 3 education and 1 year of related experience. The Chief Cook / No. 1 Cook post is listed at HK$26,900 with 5 years of experience.

Core conditions:

• Carry out the local recruitment the Labour Department stipulates; the department also refers local job seekers to you for interview.
• Pay imported workers no less than the median monthly wage for comparable local posts, under the Standard Employment Contract, with the same labour law protection as local staff.
• Contracts may not exceed 24 months, and approval is not renewed automatically.
• Pay a levy of HK$400 per month of the contract (up to 24 months, so a maximum of HK$9,600 per worker), non-refundable, before the visa is issued.
• Grant paid leave for the worker to attend a Labour Department briefing within 8 weeks of arrival.

For a small Japanese restaurant with a kitchen of three or four, the 3:1 ratio is the binding limit. It is worth counting your full time local kitchen headcount before you start.

5. Talent List and the Technical Professionals stream

Two newer schemes come up in conversations about Hong Kong hiring. Neither is a practical route for a chef.

• Talent List Hong Kong identifies professions the government most wants to attract, grouped under areas such as financial services, innovation and technology, healthcare, creative industries, legal services, and aviation and shipping. No culinary profession appears on it.
• The Technical Professionals stream under the GEP, running from 30 June 2025 to 29 June 2028 with a quota of 10,000, is for non degree professionals aged 18 to 40, but only in the skilled trades on its Technical Professional List. That list does not include chefs or cooks.

6. Pay floors

• Statutory minimum wage: HK$43.1 an hour from 1 May 2026 (Labour Department). It is reviewed each year.
• ESLS: at least the median monthly wage for the post (HK$19,670 for Cook (Japanese Cuisine) in the June 2026 list).
• GEP: no published figure. The package must be broadly in line with the market for professionals, and accommodation and benefits count towards it.

For salary benchmarks in other markets, see sushi chef salary by country.

7. Step by step

1. Decide whether the role is professional (GEP) or cook level (ESLS). The evidence and timescales are completely different.
2. Search locally first, including Japanese residents and dependants with work rights. For ESLS this is mandatory; for the GEP it is your evidence that the role cannot be filled locally.
3. For the GEP, assemble a portfolio of the chef's experience with translations, and a detailed offer showing the full package.
4. For ESLS, check your 3:1 kitchen ratio, use the Common Posts form if the role matches, and budget for the six week recruitment and the levy.
5. Put the offer in writing. See chef employment contract checklist and relocation packages; housing is the largest hidden cost in Hong Kong.

For comparison with other Asian markets, see Singapore and Taiwan.

General information checked against official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. ESLS catering rules changed on 16 June 2026 and application forms were revised in September 2026. Confirm current requirements with the Immigration Department and the Labour Department's Supplementary Labour Division before applying.