In accordance with Article 99 of the Basic Law, new recruits appointed to the Civil Service on or after 1 July 1997 must be permanent residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, save for those who fall within the exceptions provided in Articles 99 & 101 of the Basic Law.

The entry requirements for civil service grades and ranks are normally set with reference to academic or professional qualifications, technical skills, working experience, language proficiency and other qualities or attributes as required on the basis of the operational need of the grades/ranks concerned.

Language Proficiency Requirements

In line with the policy objective to develop a Civil Service which is biliterate (Chinese and English) and trilingual (Cantonese, English and Putonghua) to meet long-term operational and development needs, all civil service grades are normally required to specify Chinese and English language proficiency requirements for appointment.

To ensure the civil service operates efficiently and effectively in both Chinese and English, with effect from 18 October 2006, the language proficiency requirements for entry to the Civil Service are revised as follows -

(a)

for civil service posts requiring degree or professional qualifications, applicants are required to obtain either‘Level 2’or‘Level 1’results in the two language papers (Use of Chinese and Use of English) in the Common Recruitment Examination as stipulated by individual recruiting grades/ departments in the relevant job advertisement before job application; and

(b)

for civil service posts with general academic qualifications set below degree level, individual recruiting grades/ departments will stipulate, in the relevant job advertisements, the language proficiency requirements of the posts concerned.  In general, for posts with academic requirements set as Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) level, applicants should attain at least Level 2 in Chinese Language and English Language in the HKCEE, or equivalentNote.

Enquiries on the language proficiency requirements and recruitment plan of individual grades can be directed to the recruiting grade/department.

Note: For civil service appointment purpose, with effect from 8 August 2007, 'Grade C' and 'Grade E' in Chinese Language and English Language (Syllabus B) in previous HKCEE are accepted administratively as comparable to 'Level 3' and 'Level 2' respectively in Chinese Language and English Language in the 2007 HKCEE.