Overseas doctors recruited to work in public hospitals without having to pass the local licensing examination will be given only one-year contracts and will receive the same pay as local doctors.
The recruitment exercise is the first of its kind to be introduced by the Hospital Authority to tackle its manpower shortage.
It is aimed mainly at overseas-qualified Hong Kong people who are practising abroad.
Cantonese proficiency is stipulated for posts requiring frequent contact with patients.
The scheme has had modifications introduced to make it more acceptable to local doctors, who have hotly opposed it. It will go before the Hospital Authority board for approval on Monday.
'We understand that a group of Hong Kong people practising in the UK or Australia, for example, are keen to return,' a person familiar with the scheme said.