Teachers, social workers, nurses and engineers

Work in education, social welfare, healthcare, and engineering in Hong Kong carries a statutory registration, or a professional qualification, that you have to hold. Without that registration, an employer cannot place you in the post, even if the employer wants to hire you. The notes below set out, for each of the 4, the conditions of registration, how a non-local qualification is handled, and the documents in the application. They follow the Education Bureau page on teacher registration; the frequently asked questions, the notes on applying for registration, and the page on assessment of non-local qualifications of the Social Workers Registration Board; the Nursing Council of Hong Kong pages on registration and enrolment requirements; and the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers page on professional assessment, together with M3 Routes to Membership (July 2025 edition). Checked 19 October 2026. Application deadlines are not set out here. Follow each body's own announcement.

Teachers: registered teacher and permitted teacher

1. The legal requirement. Section 42 of the Education Ordinance provides that a person who teaches in a school must be a registered teacher (RT) or a permitted teacher (PT). Once the appointment is confirmed, and before the teacher starts to teach, the school and the teacher must submit the application for registration promptly. A private school that offers a non-formal curriculum, and that meets the conditions of the exemption order, may receive a partial exemption.
2. Permitted teacher (PT):
   1. This is for a person who has academic qualifications and has not had teacher training.
   2. You must first be employed by a school. The supervisor of that school then submits Form 10.
   3. The minimum academic qualification for a secondary course, a primary course, or a post-secondary course is a higher diploma, an associate degree, or an equivalent qualification. Teaching at a higher level requires a higher qualification. You must also show that you are able to teach the subject.
   4. A permit to teach is valid only for the school named in it. It is cancelled automatically when you leave that school. To move to another school, the new school submits a form. If you have been a permitted teacher before, the form is Form 11.
3. Registered teacher (RT):
   1. You hold a recognised teaching qualification, for example a local teacher's certificate, or a postgraduate diploma in education.
   2. You are a Hong Kong permanent resident. If you are not, you must hold one of the following issued by the Immigration Department: a valid employment visa, a landing slip bearing the conditions and limit of stay, or an HKSAR Document of Identity for Visa Purposes.
   3. You apply on Form 8.
4. If your contact details change, tell the Education Bureau within 1 month, in writing or through the electronic platform. If the Bureau cannot deliver a letter to the latest address, it may decide without considering the teacher's representations.
5. How to plan:
   1. If you have no teacher training, teach as a permitted teacher at the start, and later take a teaching qualification and move to registered teacher.
   2. For a subject where safety needs particular care, such as senior secondary science, the school should ask the Education Bureau before it employs a teacher who has not been trained in that subject.

Social workers: the Social Workers Registration Board

1. The legal basis is section 17 of the Social Workers Registration Ordinance. The conditions of registration are:
   1. You hold a social work qualification the Board recognises.
   2. You ordinarily reside in Hong Kong.
   3. You are a fit and proper person.
   4. You are not subject to a disciplinary order.
   5. The Board will take into account whether you have been convicted.
2. A declaration of convictions. A first application must include a statutory declaration on whether you have been convicted. You may make it on Form HAD5 before a Commissioner for Oaths at a District Office, or on Form SWRBSD1 before a practising solicitor or a justice of the peace. After you are registered, if you are charged or convicted anywhere, tell the Board in writing as soon as you can.
3. The documents:
   1. The application form for registration (valid for 1 month).
   2. A copy of your identity card, and proof of address.
   3. The original statutory declaration (valid for 1 month).
   4. A registration fee of HK$500, by cheque.
   5. Proof of the social work qualification. A new graduate who does not yet have the certificate may first submit an official transcript, or a letter from the faculty, and submit the graduation certificate later.
4. If you do not hold a recognised social work qualification, but you have been hired into a social work post, you must submit proof of employment. It must state clearly that the post requires use of the social worker title, that it requires social work duties, and what the post requires.
5. How long it takes. Once the documents and the fee are complete, generally about 10 working days.
6. The qualification does not expire. If you hold a recognised qualification, you may still apply for registration even if the programme has ceased. There is no time limit.
7. A non-local social work qualification that is not on the recognised list, and that is not recognised by an overseas body the Board accepts, may be put forward for an individual assessment. You pay for that assessment. The Board does not publish a list of the qualifications that have been assessed individually.

Nurses: registered nurse and enrolled nurse

1. There are 2 categories, registered nurse and enrolled nurse. You apply for each separately.
2. An applicant for registration as a nurse who trained outside Hong Kong:
   1. Has completed a programme of nursing theory and practice of not less than 3 years, or a pre-registration nursing programme of not less than 3 academic years, or another programme the Council has approved.
   2. Holds a practising certificate that is valid at the time of the application, issued by a certifying body the Council recognises.
   3. Has passed the Licensing Examination for registration and, where it is required, has completed the specified further study.
3. An applicant for enrolment as a nurse who trained outside Hong Kong: at least 2 years of formal full-time nurse training, a valid practising certificate, and a pass in the Licensing Examination for enrolment.
4. The Council does not operate mutual recognition of registration. It assesses each applicant's nursing programme on its own, by the theory hours, the clinical hours, and the content, against the local syllabus.
5. Documents for full registration:
   1. The nursing graduation certificate.
   2. A Hong Kong identity card, or a passport.
   3. A valid practising certificate issued by the overseas registration body.
   4. A document that proves the date of first registration.

An application sent by post must include notarised copies.

1. The training institution must send the transcript, and the breakdown of training hours, directly to the Council in a sealed envelope (the "Verification of Training Details" part of the application form). The original registration body must return the "Verification of Original Registration" directly. The Council notes that an overseas institution or registration body may need 3 to 4 months on average to complete the verification.
2. An application submitted on or after 1 June 2026. After you pass the examination, ask the original registration body to complete the "Verification of No Conviction Record and Good Standing" and to send it directly to the Council.
3. The Council may refuse an application because the applicant has been convicted of an offence punishable with imprisonment, has been guilty of unprofessional conduct, or is not of good character (sections 9(3) and 15(3) of the Nurses Registration Ordinance).
4. If the names on the documents do not match, you may need a statutory declaration that they are the same person.

Engineers: Corporate Member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers

1. The academic requirement for a Corporate Member:
   1. An honours bachelor's degree accredited by the Institution.
   2. Or an accredited bachelor's degree listed under the Washington Accord.
   3. Another engineering or technology qualification at honours bachelor's degree level may be assessed individually. The form is Form 1/AQ.
2. There are 3 routes to Corporate Member:
   1. The Formal Training Route (a Scheme "A" trainee). You take structured training at an organisation approved for Scheme "A", under an engineering supervisor and a training tutor. The training period is 2 years. For the civil, environmental, geotechnical, and structural disciplines it is 3 years. After you complete the training and have gained sufficient responsible experience, you may take the professional assessment, generally not less than 3 years after graduation.
   2. The General Experience Route. If you have not received approved training, you need at least 5 years of general experience plus 1 year of responsible experience, that is 6 years in total after graduation.
   3. The Mature Route. It applies to a person over 35.

There is also a research and development route, and there are special routes for particular disciplines.

1. The professional assessment:
   1. Submit the application form, with a report, drawings, and documents that prove the training and the experience.
   2. Once the check is passed, an interview is arranged. A written paper (an essay) is generally held after the interview.
   3. After the Council approves, you are told the result. A candidate who passes is admitted as a Corporate Member.

The Institution notes that, besides technical ability, a professional engineer also needs to write well and to communicate well.

1. The threshold for Scheme "A". A Graduate Member must also meet the academic requirement for a Corporate Member of that discipline before registering as a Scheme "A" trainee.
2. How to plan:
   1. When you look for work, give priority to an employer that provides Scheme "A" training. It can shorten the time to Corporate Membership.
   2. If your qualification is not accredited, apply for an individual assessment first, and confirm whether you need to take further subjects.

Preparation that applies to all four

1. Academic documents. The graduation certificate, the transcript, and the syllabus, including the hours. If a document is not in Chinese or in English, prepare a certified translation.
2. No criminal record. More than one of these bodies asks for a statutory declaration, or for an overseas certificate of no criminal conviction. A certificate of no criminal conviction issued by the Hong Kong Police is only for a visa and for adoption (see the note in this set on background checks).
3. The visa. If you are not a permanent resident, you need a status that allows you to work in Hong Kong. Registration as a registered teacher expressly requires a non-permanent resident to hold a valid employment visa, or the related landing slip.
4. Time. Verification by an institution outside Hong Kong often takes several months. The earlier you start, the better.

Sources

• Education Bureau, page on teacher registration, and EDB Circular No. 7/2007 (checked 19 October 2026)
• Social Workers Registration Board, frequently asked questions, notes on applying for registration, and the page on non-local social work qualifications (checked 19 October 2026)
• Nursing Council of Hong Kong, page on registration and enrolment requirements, and the page Application for Full Registration/Enrolment (General) (checked 19 October 2026)
• Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, page on professional assessment, and M3 Routes to Membership (July 2025 edition, checked 19 October 2026)