Applications for Common Recruitment Examination and Basic Law Test open tomorrow

     A spokesman for the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) today (August 6) said that prospective applicants for civil service posts at degree or professional level can apply from tomorrow (August 7) to sit the Common Recruitment Examination and Basic Law Test (CRE and BLT) in Hong Kong tentatively scheduled to be held on October 10 and 17, or another date within October if necessary.
      
     In the light of the evolving situation regarding COVID-19, the CSB will adjust the arrangements for the examination if the situation warrants and announce them on the CSB webpage. The spokesman reminded persons who wish to take the coming CRE and BLT to pay attention to the latest announcements.
      
     Precautionary measures will be taken to safeguard the health of candidates and invigilators including setting up of body temperature screening at the entrances of the examination centres, requiring all candidates and invigilators to wear masks and widening the seat spacing among candidates. If the situation warrants, the examination will be held on separate days to reduce the number of candidates in each examination centre to achieve social distancing.
      
     For the convenience of those studying or residing outside Hong Kong, the CRE and BLT is also tentatively scheduled to be held on December 5 in seven other cities, namely Beijing, London, San Francisco, New York, Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney. The call for applications for taking the examination outside Hong Kong will be made later this year. Persons applying to sit the examination in Hong Kong will not be allowed to apply again for sitting the examination outside Hong Kong. The spokesman pointed out that the examinations outside Hong Kong might only be held subject to the regulations and prevailing measures in that particular city in the light of the development of COVID-19. If the situation warrants, the examination may be deferred or cancelled. All updates on the examination arrangements will be announced on the CSB webpage.
      
     Valid CRE results are required of applicants for civil service posts at degree or professional level, unless applicants possess equivalent results in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination or other specified public examinations (the relevant details are available on the CSB webpage). Persons interested in applying for civil service posts at degree or professional level in the near future may wish to consider sitting the coming examination so as to be eligible to apply for these posts, which may become available before another CRE is held.

     In addition, applicants for civil service posts will be assessed on their Basic Law knowledge. The result of the BLT will be one of the considerations to assess the suitability of a candidate.
      
     Applicants for the coming CRE and BLT should be holders of a degree, or a qualification meeting the entry requirement on professional qualifications for civil service degree or professional posts, or university students who will have attained a degree in the 2020-21 academic year. Applicants may choose to take any of the CRE papers and/or the BLT paper in the coming examination.
      
     Persons interested in taking the examination may apply from tomorrow through the online application system on the CSB webpage at www.csb.gov.hk/eng/cre.html, or by using the CRE and BLT application form (CSB31 (7/2020)), which can be downloaded from the CSB webpage. Applications must be made before 5pm on August 20 (Hong Kong time).
      
     More details about the coming CRE and BLT will be available on the CSB webpage (www.csb.gov.hk/eng/cre.html) from tomorrow. General enquiries may be directed to the Civil Service Examinations Unit by phone at 2537 6429 or by email to csbcseu@csb.gov.hk.