Opportunities for Students

The Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO) has come into force since 1 May 2011. The revised Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW) rate of $40 per hour has come into effect since 1 May 2023.

EXEMPTION applies to the following student employees:

1. Student Interns

 A student intern is:

• a student undergoing a period of work arranged or endorsed by an education institution in connection with an accredited programme¹ being provided by the institution to the student; or
• a student resident in Hong Kong and undergoing a period of work arranged or endorsed by an institution in connection with a non-local education programme² being provided by the institution to the student,

for which the work is a compulsory or elective component of the requirements for the award of the academic qualification to which the programme leads.

If you would like to work as a ‘student intern’, you should check with your home department to see if your ‘student intern’ status is supported or not. If yes, you should receive a Confirmation of “student intern” status under the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608) from your Department.

(Note: The processing time varies from one department to another. You are advised to check with your home department and submit your application as soon as possible PRIOR TO the commencement of the internship.)

2. Work Experience Students during a Period of Exempt Student Employment (Note: The Confirmation of student status for ‘work experience student’ applies to a work experience student who agrees with his employer to treat a continuous period of up to 59 days during the contract of employment as a period of exempt student employment. The counting of a continuous period of up to 59 days is based on calendar days and not working days.)

A work experience student is a student who:

• is enrolled in an accredited programme³ ; or
• is resident in Hong Kong and enrolled in a non-local education programme⁴,

and who is engaged under a contract of employment at the beginning of which he is under the age of 26 years.

Note: There can only be one period of exempt student employment which commences in the same calendar year (i.e. 1 January to 31 December).

If you would like to work as a 'work experience student', you should confirm your status by:

    1. Providing a proof of your student status at HKUST, you can obtain such proof by either of the following means:

• If you are a full-time HKUST student, you can use the print-out of your student information embedded in the HKUST student cards and with the printout of the list stating the Local Education Institutions specified in the Schedule 1 to the Minimum Wage Ordinance, as a confirmation.

          OR

• If you are an undergraduate student in SENG, you can approach IEI for Confirmation of student status for “work experience student” under the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608). You have to bring along the following to IEI office (Room 6533, Lift 27/28) during office hours:

1. duly signed contract / offer letter
2. HKUST Student Card
3. HKID

(Note: The normal processing time is 2 working days.)

If you are a postgraduate student in SENG, please contact SENG PG office.

2. Making a Statutory Declaration:

You can obtain free service available at the Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of the Home Affairs Department for making the statutory declaration. For details please refer to the website of Home Affairs Department.

You could refer to Specimen Content of statutory declaration made by a work experience student for a period of exempt student employment for reference. 

Please note that any person who makes a false statutory declaration commits a criminal offence and is liable to prosecution. 

For more details on MWO, please refer to the following websites or materials: 

• Labour Department of the HKSAR Government
• Statutory Minimum Wage: Reference Guidelines for Employers and Employees
• Statutory Minimum Wage: Latest Revision
• Statutory Minimum Wage: Notes for Student Employees and Employers
• Leaflet on Exemption for specified student interns and work experience students
• Comics of exemption for student interns and work experience students
• HKUST Career Center

1 See footnote 1 in the Confirmation of “student intern” status under the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608)

2 See footnote 2 in the Confirmation of “student intern” status under the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608)

3 See footnote 1 in the Confirmation of student status for “work experience student” under the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608)

4 See footnote 2 in the Confirmation of student status for “work experience student” under the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608)

If you are a non-local student, please note that there are government policies and rules governing non-local students working in Hong Kong.  Failure in complying with these rules and regulations will result in deportation. Please familiarize yourself with such policies, relevant rules and procedures on websites of:

• Immigration Department of the HKSAR Government
• HKUST Career Center

If you are an undergraduate non-local student in SENG who wishes to take up an internship, you are required to complete the following process:

1. Familiarize yourself with policies, relevant rules, procedures and FAQs on Non-local Students Working in Hong Kong section of HKUST Career Center’s website.

2. Follow the procedures on Employment During the Study Program section and provide Departmental Designated Officer (for UG) at your home department with all the following documents to facilitate your department’s endorsement of study-related internship. You are responsible for the consequence of having delay in the endorsement process due to incomplete submission of required documents and information.

     A. NLSE Form A

     B. Copy of duly signed contract / offer letter with the following information 

         1. Name of company

         2. Internship period with exact start date and exact end date

         3. Position

         4. Mode of employment (i.e. full-time or part-time)

         5. No. of working hours per week

         6. Salary

     C. Copy of valid passport

     D. Copy of student visa (visa label in orange/ e-Visa)

     E. Copy of HKID

     F. Copy of HKUST student ID

    G. Copy of Exit/Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau (if applicable)

(Note: The processing time varies from one department to another. You are advised to check with your home department and submit your application as soon as possible PRIOR TO the commencement of the internship.)

3. Your home department will then pass the related documents to SENG for final endorsement. You will receive an email from SENG School Designated Officer (for UG) after the process is completed. You should bring along the original copy of all documents mentioned in (2) above to IEI office (Room 6533, Lift 27/28) at the scheduled timeslot for collection of 2 endorsement letters (1 attention to the Director of Immigration Department, 1 attention to you) issued.

(Note: The normal processing time is 5 working days upon receipt of all the required documents and information.)

4. You should go to Immigration Department to apply for the "No Objection Letter" (NOL) for study-related Internship. Please note that you are NOT allowed to start your internship until you have been issued such NOL by Immigration Department. You may direct questions about the application procedures to the Immigration Department enquiry hotline at +852 2824 6111.

If you are a postgraduate non-local student in SENG, please contact SENG PG office.

According to Paragraph 3.3 of Academic Regulations Governing UG Studies, 2023-24, undergraduate students may not engage in employment for more than 10 hours per week on average during a Regular Term.  Any exception to this rule requires the approval of the relevant Dean or the Dean’s designee.

If you are an undergraduate student in SENG who wishes to apply for approval to work for more than 10 hours per week on average during a regular term,

1. 1. You need to complete relevant sections of Form EE-10 and submit your application to the UG Coordinator of your Department.  You need to give reasons to justify your request, provide an employment contract/ offer letter, the latest unofficial transcript and a study plan on how and when you expect to complete your study program(s).
   2. Should your request is approved by the UG Coordinator of your Department, you need to further submit your request to the Office of the Dean of Engineering (Room 6542, Lift 27/28).  Your request will be passed to the Associate Dean overseeing UG Studies matter for final approval.
   3. You will be informed of the result by email.