Immigration Central | All about moving to Hong Kong

Hong Kong. (Photo: Simon Zhu via Unsplash)

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is often described as a ‘city of immigrants’. According to the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, 2019, Hong Kong ranks third in the world for least restrictive immigration laws for foreign talent. Though the government has suspended Residency/Citizenship by Investment, there are several other ways to move to Hong Kong.

Visa categories

Employment/Investment category

General Employment Policy (GEP) Professionals: Professionals who are interested to work in Hong Kong can apply under the GEP which has no sector restriction. Key requirements include:

·         Secured a job relevant to his/her academic qualifications or work experience that cannot be readily taken up by the local workforce

·         Remuneration package is commensurate with the prevailing market rate

·         Good education background, technical qualifications or proven professional experience

The new enhancement measures under GEP are:

·         Relax pattern of duration of stay from 1+2+2+3 years to 2+3+3 years

·         Relax eligible top-tier entrants’ pattern of duration of stay from 1+2+2+3 years to 2+6 years

General Employment Policy (GEP) Entrepreneurs: Key requirements include:

·         Good education background, technical qualifications or proven professional experience

·         In a position to make substantial contribution to the economy of the HKSAR

·         Applications will be favourably considered for start-up entrepreneurs who plan to establish or join in a start-up business supported by a government-backed programme such as InvestHK’s StartmeupHK Venture Programme, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation’s Incu-App, Incu-Bio and Incu-Tech programmes, Cyberport Incubation Programme, Innovation and Technology Commission’s Enterprise Support Scheme, Hong Kong Design Centre’s Design Incubation Programme.

Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS): A quota-based entrant scheme, QMAS seeks to attract highly skilled or talented persons to settle in Hong Kong in order to enhance the country’s economic competitiveness. Successful applicants are not required to have secured an offer of local employment before their entry to Hong Kong for settlement. All applicants must fulfil a set of prerequisites before they can be awarded points under one of the two points-based tests - General Points Test, and Achievement-based Points Test - and compete for quota allocation with other applicants.

Applicants must satisfy all of the following prerequisites

Age: The applicant must be aged 18 or above when filing an application under the Scheme.

Financial requirement: The applicant must be able to demonstrate that he/she is capable of supporting and accommodating himself/herself and his/her dependants, if any, on his/her own financial resources without relying on public assistance during his/her stay in Hong Kong.

Good character: The applicant should not have any criminal record or adverse immigration record in Hong Kong or elsewhere.

Language proficiency: The applicant should be proficient in written and spoken Chinese (Putonghua or Cantonese) or English.

Basic educational qualification: The applicant must have a good education background, normally a first degree from a recognized university or a tertiary educational institution. In special circumstances, good technical qualifications, proven professional abilities and/or experience and achievements supported by documentary evidence may be considered.

New enhancement measures

·         Relax pattern of duration of stay from 1+2+2+3 years to 2+3+3 years for GPT entrants

·         Relax eligible top-tier GPT entrants’ pattern of duration of stay to 2+6 years

·         APT entrants may be granted 8 years of stay upon entry

·         Bonus points for outstanding academic background and international work experience under GPT

Technology Talent Admission Scheme (TechTAS): Non-local technology talent may apply to work in Hong Kong under TechTas which provides a fast-track arrangement for eligible companies to admit non-local technology talent to undertake research and development (R&D) work for them in Hong Kong. Eligible companies would first have to apply for a quota. A company allotted with a quota by the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) can accordingly sponsor an eligible person to apply for an employment visa/entry permit within the 12-month quota validity period.

Key requirements

·         Employing company with a valid quota approved by ITC at the time of application

·         Applicant being engaged principally in conducting R&D in the areas of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity, data analytics, financial technologies, material science, robotics, 5G communications, digital entertainment, green technology, integrated circuit design, Internet-of-Things or microelectronics

·         Applicant being a degree-holder in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) from a well-recognised university

·         Remuneration not lower than the prevailing market level for comparable jobs in Hong Kong

·         Applicant meeting the specific particulars pertaining to the job position set out in the quota allotment letter issued by ITC

Non-local graduates category

International arrangement for non-local graduates: The one-year quota-free category allows individuals who are willing to live and stay in HKSAR for employment can apply under Immigration arrangements for overseas graduates.

Key requirements

·         Obtained an undergraduate or higher qualification in a full-time locally-accredited programme in Hong Kong

·         Job offer not required upon entry (for fresh graduates)

·         Job is at a level commonly taken up by degree holders and is remunerated at the market rate (for returning graduates)

Permanent residency and citizenship

Obtaining citizenship (naturalisation): For the most part, requirements are the same as for obtaining citizenship in the PRC (People’s Republic of China). Many expats do not pursue citizenship in Hong Kong (or the PRC), as Hong Kong Permanent Residency essentially confers the same benefits. Holders of the Hong Kong PR card may freely enter, live, and work in Hong Kong without restriction (and are also eligible for public healthcare benefits).

Certificate of Entitlement (COE): People living outside Hong Kong who want to be a permanent resident of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) can apply for the Certificate of Entitlement (CoE) for the right of abode in HKSAR.

Under the Immigration Ordinance, six categories of people are eligible to enjoy the right of abode in the HKSAR. Besides, a person fulfils the transitional arrangement under the same Ordinance is also eligible to enjoy the right of abode.

Eligibility for CoE includes a person not of Chinese nationality who has entered Hong Kong with a valid travel document, has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than seven years and has taken Hong Kong as his/her place of permanent residence before or after the establishment of the HKSAR. The continuous period of seven years ordinary residence must be immediately before the date when the person applies to the Director of Immigration for the status of a permanent resident of the HKSAR under this category.