Form ID 988B — Application for Employment of Domestic Helper from Abroad (employer's part)

What is Form ID 988B (employer's application for a helper)?

Form ID 988B is the employer's half of a Hong Kong foreign domestic helper (FDH) application. The Immigration Department (ImmD) looks at two forms together: ID 988B from the employer, about the employer, the household and its finances, and ID 988A from the helper, about the helper's identity, experience and history. Both are signed by hand and sent with the standard Employment Contract (ID 407) and the supporting documents.

Where the helper's form focuses on the person coming to work, ID 988B asks the employer to show that the household can support a helper: its income against the HK$15,000 a month benchmark printed on the form, the number of bedrooms and whether there is a separate servant room, everyone who lives at the contractual address, and any helpers the household already employs. It ends with the employer's declaration and undertaking to the Government.

FileIt guides you through every part in plain English, pre-fills the employer's name, date of birth and e-mail from the People in your vault, splits each Hong Kong identity card number into the form's letter, digit and check-digit boxes, and checks the form's own rules, such as giving a travel document if there is no HKID and an income figure that matches a 'Yes' answer. Your answers are printed into ImmD's official PDF and saved in your vault. FileIt does not submit the application: you sign the printed form and send it yourself.

Who needs to fill out Form ID 988B (employer's application for a helper)?

• Hong Kong residents employing a foreign domestic helper for the first time.
• Employers renewing a contract with the same helper.
• Employers replacing a helper whose contract has ended or been terminated.
• Households employing an additional helper, who also attach a letter explaining the need, the living arrangements for all helpers and how they are deployed.
• Employers taking on a helper who is changing employer in Hong Kong.

When to use Form ID 988B (employer's application for a helper)

• Once you have chosen a helper and completed and signed the four copies of the ID 407 contract, since the D.H. contract number goes into Part 5.
• When a contract with your current helper is coming to an end and you want to renew it.
• After a helper's contract has been terminated and you are hiring a replacement: the form asks for the replaced helper's name, HKID and termination date.
• Each time you apply: a new ID 988B goes in with every application, alongside the helper's ID 988A.

What you need before you start

• Your Hong Kong identity card, or if you do not have one, your travel document and its number.
• Your residential address (the contractual address where the helper will work) and any separate correspondence address, plus telephone, fax, home telephone and e-mail.
• The helper's name as in the passport and any application reference number ImmD has given.
• For a replacement: the name, HKID and contract termination date of the helper being replaced.
• Your average monthly household income, and proof of income or assets (not needed for a contract renewal).
• The number of bedrooms and whether there is a separate servant room.
• The name, year of birth, relationship and HKID of each household member living at the contractual address.
• Details of any helpers currently employed by you or those household members: name, HKID, permitted-to-remain date and employer's name.
• The helper's place of origin and the D.H. contract number of the ID 407 contract.

What’s on Form ID 988B (employer's application for a helper)

The 2024 edition has 4 pages. FileIt asks for it in 5 parts:

1. Part 1: Particulars of employer in Hong KongEmployer
2. Part 2: Information on domestic helperEmployer
3. Part 3: Household informationEmployer
4. Part 4: DeclarationEmployer
5. Part 5: Undertaking, and signingEmployer

How to fill out Form ID 988B (employer's application for a helper), step by step

1 Part 1 — Particulars of Employer in Hong Kong

Your name in Chinese (if applicable), surname and given names in English in letter boxes, sex, date of birth, Hong Kong identity card number (if any), nationality and occupation. If you do not hold a Hong Kong identity card, give the travel document you hold and its number instead.

Then your residential address and a correspondence address if different, each in three lines within the border, followed by contact telephone and extension, fax, home telephone and e-mail. FileIt cannot print Chinese characters, so leave the Chinese-name box blank in FileIt and write it by hand if you have one.

2 Part 2 — Information on Domestic Helper

The helper's name, any application reference number, your relationship with the helper, and the kind of employment: first time employment, contract renewal with the same helper, replacement, or additional. For a replacement, give the name and HKID of the helper being replaced and the date the contract was terminated. For an additional helper, the form asks you to attach a letter explaining the need, the living arrangement for all your helpers and details of their deployment.

The top of page 2 continues Part 2 with home-leave arrangements, which apply only to a new contract with the same helper or a helper changing employer in Hong Kong: either leave is taken before the new contract starts, or you and the helper have agreed to defer it for not more than one year, with the reason. In those cases the helper also completes ID 988A, submitted with this form.

3 Part 3 — Household Information

Declare whether the average monthly household income is no less than HK$15,000 for every helper to be employed, and if yes, write the amount; ImmD asks for proof except for a contract renewal. Give the number of bedrooms and whether there is a separate servant room.

Then list the household members living at the contractual address, with year of birth, relationship to you and HKID if any; the number must match paragraph 2 of the Schedule of Accommodation and Domestic Duties in the ID 407 contract. Finally, list any domestic helpers currently employed by you or those members. The form has five rows for each table; continue on a separate sheet in the same format if you need more.

4 Part 4 — Declaration

You declare that you meet the eligibility criteria in ImmD's Guidebook, and certify from personal knowledge that the helper is suitable, will obey Hong Kong law, will leave when the permitted stay expires, and will not work at a non-contractual address or do non-domestic duties.

You also accept responsibility for the helper's repatriation to their place of origin if they fail to leave on expiry of stay (you fill in the place of origin, which FileIt prints in both the Chinese and the English sentence), and promise to tell the Director of Immigration of any change or termination of the helper's employment within seven days.

5 Part 5 — Undertaking

You undertake to the Government not to have the helper perform duties outside the contract's Schedule of Accommodation and Domestic Duties (the D.H. contract number is written here), not to let the helper take other employment, not to have the helper drive a motor vehicle without the Director of Immigration's special permission, to pay no less than the minimum allowable wage prevailing at the date of the contract, to provide suitable accommodation with reasonable privacy, and that the helper will live only at the contract's Clause 3 address.

Note 3 explains the one exception to living in: employers approved before 1 April 2003 to let helpers live out may continue, provided there is no break of more than six months in employing helpers. The page closes with your consent to ImmD's enquiries, a declaration that everything is correct, complete and true, the date and your signature.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Leaving items blank. ImmD's page asks employers to complete every item and remember to sign.
• Signing with a different signature from the ID 407 contract; ImmD asks for the two to be the same.
• Forgetting the date and signature boxes at the foot of pages 1 and 2, which a downloaded or photocopied form needs as well as the main signature on page 3.
• Listing a different number of household members from paragraph 2 of the contract's Schedule of Accommodation and Domestic Duties.
• Ticking 'Yes' for household income but writing an amount below HK$15,000, or not providing proof of income or assets for a new application.
• Filling in both the HKID and the travel document boxes, or neither. The travel document is only for an employer without a Hong Kong identity card.
• Forgetting the replaced helper's details for a replacement, or the explanatory letter for an additional helper.

After you fill it out

Print the form from FileIt, check it, and sign by hand in black or blue ink: the date and signature at the foot of pages 1 and 2 and the declaration on page 3. Use the same signature as on the ID 407 contract.

Put the application together: this form, the helper's signed ID 988A, an original of the ID 407 contract, and the supporting documents ImmD lists, such as a copy of your HKID or travel document, proof of financial capability and proof of your residential address. ImmD's page says the documents can be sent by post or delivered in person to the Immigration Department, and that applications can also be made online via GovHK. FileIt does not send anything to ImmD.

The filled PDF stays in your FileIt vault. Remember the promises in the form: tell the Director of Immigration of any change or termination of the helper's employment within seven days, and start a fresh ID 988B when the contract comes up for renewal.

Form ID 988B (employer's application for a helper): frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Blank form (PDF), published by Immigration Department, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (ImmD): https://www.immd.gov.hk/pdforms/ID988B.pdf
• Official instructions and guidance: https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/foreign_domestic_helpers.html
• Edition shown on this page: ID 988B (06/2024) (checked 2026-09-26).

FileIt is not affiliated with or endorsed by Immigration Department, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (ImmD) or any government. This page explains the form in general terms and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Always read the official instructions, and check that you are using the edition the recipient accepts. Page last reviewed 2026-09-26.

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