The Development Bureau said today (May 18) that in accordance with the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2020, the Government has launched the mechanism for enterprises with provision of construction-related professional services (see Note) in the Mainland to apply for exemption from the compulsory quarantine arrangement. The corresponding departments, including the Architectural Services Department, the Civil Engineering and Development Department, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Planning Department and the Lands Department, have started processing applications.
Currently, travellers to the Mainland would still be subject to the 14-day compulsory quarantine requirement imposed by the Mainland authorities. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is discussing with the relevant authorities in the Mainland on mutual recognition of COVID-19 testing results conducted by recognised medical laboratories, with a view to exempting the quarantine requirement for Hong Kong travellers to these places. Details of the arrangement will be announced when available.
The Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2020 commenced on April 29 this year, amending the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap. 599C) (amended Regulation). The expiry date of the amended Regulation has been extended to June 7 this year. In accordance with the newly added section 4(1)(b) in the amended Regulation, the Chief Secretary for Administration may designate any person or category of persons for exemption from the compulsory quarantine arrangement if he is satisfied that the person's or persons' travelling is necessary for purposes relating to manufacturing operations, business activities or the provision of professional services in the interest of Hong Kong's economic development.
In accordance with the above-mentioned provision, the Chief Secretary for Administration has exempted the following categories of "Construction Personnel for Provision of Professional Services in the Mainland" from the compulsory quarantine arrangement with effect from May 13 this year:
(a) either the owner of an enterprise with a valid business registration certificate issued under the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310) and with provision of construction-related professional services in the Mainland, and up to one person employed and so authorised by the enterprise; or
(b) up to two persons employed and so authorised by such an enterprise as described in (a).
An exempted person must only travel to and stay in the city/area where the construction-related professional services are provided for the purpose of provision of the intended construction-related professional services as approved, and must take every precautionary measure to ensure personal hygiene and avoid unnecessary social contact. After returning to Hong Kong, the exempted person will be subject to medical surveillance arranged by the Department of Health for a period of 14 days. The person will be required to wear masks and check body temperature daily, and report to the Department of Health on any discomfort.
Details of the exemption arrangement and the application form are in Annex 1 and Annex 2 respectively. The application form can be downloaded from the website of the Development Bureau (www.devb.gov.hk/en/public_forms/index.html).
Eligible enterprises should submit the completed application form with all required supporting documents to the corresponding departments by email as listed below.
| Processing department | Professional services | Enquiries | |
| Architectural Services Department | Architectural, landscape architectural, structural engineering or quantity surveying services | wongcfw@archsd.gov.hk | 2867 3577 |
| Civil Engineering and Development Department | Civil or geotechnical engineering services | quarantine_exemption@cedd.gov.hk | 2762 5460 |
| Electrical and Mechanical Services Department | Electrical, mechanical, building services or electronic engineering services | exempt@emsd.gov.hk | 2333 3762 |
| Planning Department | Town planning services | enquire@pland.gov.hk | 2231 5000 |
| Lands Department | Surveying services (other than quantity surveying services) | 599Cexemption@landsd.gov.hk | 2231 3187 |
In processing the applications, the departments may consult the relevant trade associations or professional institutes as well as the relevant bureaux/departments when necessary. The departments will issue authorisation letters to the exempted persons, setting out the conditions for exemption.
For enquiries, please call the relevant departments as listed in the above table.
Note: Construction-related professional services cover architectural, engineering, landscape architectural, surveying and town planning services.
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