About Application for Construction Workers Registration

1) Who should register as a registered construction worker under the Construction Workers Registration Ordinance (CWRO)?

Any person who personally carries out construction work on a construction site is required to be registered as a registered construction worker under the CWRO.

 

2) Should site foremen and engineers register as registered construction workers if they need to supervise works and/or provide demonstrations on construction sites?

Professional and technical personnel are not required to register as registered construction workers if they carry out their professional duties and functions within their respective disciplines and expertise on construction sites when necessary, but do not personally carry out construction work on construction sites.

For more details, please refer to “Administrative Guidelines on the Applicability of the Registration Requirements to Professional and Technical Personnel”

 

3) How many categories of registered construction workers, and how to distinguish their categories?

A worker who (i) is a Hong Kong permanent resident; or (ii) is not subject to any conditions of stay in Hong Kong that he shall not take up any paid or unpaid employment in Hong Kong, can apply for appropriate category of registration based on his/her own technical qualification(s):

Registration Category	Qualifications for Registration
(1)  Registered Skilled Worker (for designated trade division)	Hold a trade test certificate issued by the Construction Industry Council (CIC) or former Construction Industry Training Authority (CITA) or Vocational Training Council (VTC), or other qualifications as specified by the CWRO (e.g. other recognized registration, certificates or licenses, etc) Hold a valid Mandatory Basic Safety Training Courses (Construction Work) Card (commonly known as ‘Green Card’)
(2) Registered Semi-skilled Worker (for designated trade division)	Hold an intermediate trade test certificate issued by CIC or former CITA or VTC, or other qualifications as specified by the CWRO. Hold a valid Mandatory Basic Safety Training Courses (Construction Work) Card (commonly known as ‘Green Card’)
(3) Registered General Worker	Hold a valid Mandatory Basic Safety Training Courses (Construction Work) Card (commonly known as ‘Green Card’)

 

4) Which designated trade division can be registered as Registered Skilled Worker / Registered Semi-skilled Worker?

Currently there are 39 designated trades and 142 designated trade divisions in Schedule 1 of CWRO. Please refer to the “List of Designated Trade Divisions”

 

5) What is a “trade test certificate”?

A “trade test certificate” refers to the certified qualification obtained after passing the trade tests organized by CIC, former CITA or VTC.

Workers with less experience can obtain intermediate trade test certificates after passing intermediate trade tests.

A worker, who has completed specified apprenticeship training and obtained a graduation certificate of apprenticeship, can apply for exemption and obtain a “trade test certificate” from CIC or VTC.

  

6) What additional information can be registered in Construction Workers Registration Card?

Construction Workers Registration Cards can record specified additional information related to the construction industry, reducing the number of documents workers need to bring for work. Please refer to the “List of Specified Additional Information Allowed to be recorded in Registration Card”

  

7) What documents are required to apply for a Construction Workers Registration Card?

• Hong Kong Identity Card （For non-permanent residents: Besides Hong Kong Identity Card, applicants MUST provide "One Way Exit Permit", or passport/ travel document/ other documents with a valid employment visa and along other relevant documents (e.g. employment contract) that meet qualifications for registration
• Valid Green Card（with at least 30 days validity）
• Qualification documents of related trade divisions and other related documents （with at least 30 days of validity）
• （For Card Loss）Hong Kong Police report of lost/stolen property and MUST mentioned the loss of the construction worker registration card（e-Report is acceptable）
• （For Card Damage）The original damaged registration card
• In accordance with the Construction Workers Registration （Fees） Regulation, the registration and renewal fee is $100 for 5-year validity

  

8) Is half of the registration fee required only if a worker holds “other qualifications” (in column 6 of Schedule 1 under the CWRO) of the trade division he/she applies for registration? Why is there such an arrangement?

"Other qualifications" are specific job qualifications required by relevant legislations. Workers are required to pay for the renewal of other qualifications, thus only half of the registration fee will be charged to reduce financial burden on workers.

  

9) How much is the registration fee of apply for more than one trade division?

For the application for registration of more than one trade division, the registration fee of only one of the trade divisions is required. If the worker holds “other qualifications” of any of his/her trade divisions, the lowest fee will be charged.

  

10) How can I receive the Construction Workers Registration Card after applying through the CIC APP? How can I check the application status?

The new Construction Workers Registration Card will be mailed to your correspondence address within approximately 10 working days after the application and payment are completed. Please check the online register （www.cic.hk/wregister）. You can check the status of your application anytime in the CIC APP by clicking [ Account > My Applications ] .

  

11) Can the Construction Workers Registration Card be used immediately after receiving it by mail?

After receiving the Construction Workers Registration Card, you need to activate it within 7 days by calling the activation hotline at 3699 8703 (from 10 am to 10 pm) or tapping the card using NFC / manually inputting the card information via the CIC APP by clicking [ Account > Activate CWR Card ] any time.

  

12) How can I visit the CIC Service Centres for services?

Please make an appointment in advance to visit CIC Service Centres (Kowloon Bay/ Nam Cheong) by the following means:

• CIC APP（Video Guide： https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trbrYkLA7Gk）
• Contact workers registration hotline at 2873 1911（9 am – 6 pm, Mondays to Fridays; Closed Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays）

CIC provides e-Services for Worker Registration, HKIC courses, Trade Testing, you can handle your applications conveniently and easily:

•  Applying through CIC APP for Worker Registration（download link: CIC APP - Construction essentials at your fingertips）
• Applying through online platform for HKIC courses（Please click: https://apps.cic.hk/hkicopas/Login）
• Applying through ‘TTOA Mobile App’  for Trade Testing（download link: https://qrco.de/bbTbzD）