This study examines the transformation of Filipino domestic service in Hong Kong from its official recognition by the Hong Kong government in the 1970s to 2005. In undertaking a historical analysis on the origins, legislation, discourses and practices of the Filipino migrant community in Hong Kong, this dissertation aims to shed light on the way abstract concepts that are attached to nationality and citizenship become inscribed into everyday existence and become markers of status and belonging. This dissertation departs from existing scholarship on Hong Kong which has predominantly focused on the 1997 Handover, conceptions of democracy, and economic development. By using a multi-method approach, involving archival work, participant observation and interviews, I argue that the developments of the Filipino community in Hong Kong are not isolated or unique, nor are they simply political or social. The dissertation highlights the ways in ways in which the actions and perceptions of the Hong Kong and Philippine government, local and expat employers and employment agencies instigate and sustain the marginalisation of domestic helpers. Attention to this oft-ignored aspect of Hong Kong's history is important in understanding the cultural and social history of the city by highlighting how Chinese locals, foreign expats and Filipino migrants, who are often written in contrast with one another, are in actuality simultaneously bound and affected by each other.