An application for a visa/entry permit to take up employment in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (hereafter “HKSAR”) under the TP Stream may be favourably considered if the following eligibility criteria and the normal immigration requirements are met:
- there is no security objection and no known record of serious crime in respect of the applicant;
- the applicant is aged between 18 and 40 at the time of submission of an entry applicationNote1;
- the applicant must meet the minimum qualification requirements specified for the corresponding specific skilled trade on the TP List, including academic qualifications, work experience, professional qualifications (such as local registration or licence to practiseNote2) and skills, etc.;
- the applicant has a confirmed offer of employment in the HKSAR in one of the specific skilled trades under the TP List, and the employment contract must meet the minimum duration requirement applicable to that specific skilled trade Note1; and
- the remuneration package (including income, accommodation, medical and other fringe benefits) is broadly commensurate with the prevailing market level for relevant technical professionals in the HKSAR and not lower than the prevailing median employment earnings of persons with academic qualifications at post-secondary non-degree level in the HKSAR (whichever is higher).
For details, please refer to the Guidebook for General Employment Policy and Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (Technical Professionals Stream).
Note 1:
Not applicable to an application for extension of stay or change of employment.
Note 2:
If the applicant (i) was previously permitted to remain in the HKSAR on employment condition under the TP Stream of the GEP or the ASMTP, and now intends to re-apply for a visa/entry permit under the TP Stream for employment in the HKSAR in the same skilled trade (for skilled trades with more than one scope of work, this includes employment under the same or a different scope of work within the same skilled trade); or (ii) continues to be employed in the same skilled trade in the HKSAR but under a different scope of work within the currency of his/her permitted limit of stay, he/she must first obtain the relevant local registration or licence to practise. Otherwise, he/she will not be eligible for application.
All entry visa/permit applications made under the TP Stream will be subject to quota. There is an overall quota of 10 000 in the first three yearsNote3 of implementation, and the quota for each specific skilled trade is limited to 3 000.
Applications under the TP Stream are restricted to the specific skilled trades as listed on the Technical Professional List. For details, please refer to the Technical Professional List.
Note 3:
From 30 June 2025 to 29 June 2028 (both dates inclusive).
The TP List covers eight specified skilled trades, namely new industrialisation technicians, nurses, aircraft maintenance technicians, marine services technicians (local vessels), information technology technicians, lift/escalator technicians, building information modeling coordinators and electrical technicians.
The quota will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Quota will be deemed secured upon successful submission of an entry visa/permit application by the applicant and his/her employer through the online application system of the Immigration Department (hereafter “ImmD”). Once the overall quota or the quota of a specific skilled trade is fully utilised, the ImmD’s online application system will be temporarily suspended from accepting relevant applications. If any applications are ultimately unsuccessful, their allocated quota will be released for use by other applicants. The ImmD’s online application system will then resume at a specific time to accept new entry visa/permit applications. The released quota will also be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
Please click here to submit an online application and upload the supporting documents.
Yes. For the purpose of Schedule 2 of the Immigration Regulations (Cap.115A), both the GEP and the ASMTP are “specified scheme”. For entry visa/permit applications or change of condition of stay (including extension of limit of stay) applications made under a “specified scheme”, the principal applicant and each of his/her dependant(s) (if any) are required to pay a non-refundable application fee and the corresponding visa issuance fee. For more details on the fee structure, please visit the ImmD’s website at www.immd.gov.hk/eng/specifiedschemes.html.
It normally takes four weeks to process applications under the TP Stream of the GEP or the ASMTP upon receipt of all the required documents [including the verification result of the applicant’s qualifications by the relevant bureau(x)/department(s) or professional institution(s) (if applicable)] and the relevant application fee. The ImmD will not be able to process the application unless all the required documents and the relevant application fee have been received.
Persons admitted under the TP Stream will normally be granted an initial stay of 36 months on employment condition. For individual skilled trades which require applicants to accumulate work experience in the HKSAR for a certain period of time before they can obtain local registration or licence to practise, the technical professionals concerned will normally be granted an initial stay of 24 months on employment condition if they have not yet obtained the relevant local registration or licence to practise at the time of application for entry. Within the currency of their permitted limit of stay, the technical professionals shall only take such employment as approved by the Director of Immigration. They shall seek prior approval from the Director of Immigration for any change of employment, but change of skilled trades is not permitted. For skilled trades with more than one scope of work, change of scope of workNote4 is not allowed within the currency of the permitted limit of stay unless prior approval has been obtained from the Director of Immigration (for details, please refer to the Relevant Information of “Technical Professional List”).
Note 4:
Change of scope of work within the same skilled trade is not subject to quota.
Non-permanent residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (hereafter “HKSAR”), irrespective of their nationality and type of travel document held, do not require a re-entry visa/entry permit to enter the HKSAR provided that they return within the currency of their permitted limit of stay and that the circumstances upon which they have acquired their residential status remain unchanged.
If the employment contract is terminated for any reason before the expiry of the permitted limit of stay of the technical professional on employment condition, both the technical professional and his/her employer must notify the ImmD of the date of termination of the contract within 7 days following the date of termination through the ImmD’s online service system.
If the employment contract is terminated for any reason before the expiry of the permitted limit of stay of the technical professional on employment condition, he/she is required to leave the HKSAR within two months from the date of termination of contract or before the expiry of his/her limit of stay, whichever is earlier. Besides, the technical professional concerned shall also notify his/her dependant(s) (if any) of the termination of his/her employment contract and the requirement of his/her dependant(s)’s departure within the limit of stay.
The length of stay of such dependants will normally be linked to that of their sponsors. If their sponsor’s employment contract is terminated before the expiry of the sponsor’s limit of stay, such dependants have to leave the HKSAR within two months from the date of termination of their sponsor’s employment contract, or before the expiry of their limit of stay, whichever is earlier.
If a technical professional intends to return to the HKSAR to take up employment in any one of the skilled trades after the expiry of his/her limit of stay, he/she has to apply for a new entry visa/ permit and such application will be subject to quota. However, if an applicant intends to take up employment in the same skilled trade in the HKSAR, the entry application will be considered only if he/she has obtained a valid local registration or licence to practise (if applicable), and subject to the availability of quota at the time of application (for details, please refer to the Relevant Information of Technical Professional List).
If a technical professional intends to take up employment in another skilled trade, he/she has to apply for a new entry visa/permit and such application will be subject to quota. Besides, the technical professional and his/her original employer must notify the ImmD of the date of termination of the contract within 7 days following the date of termination through the ImmD’s online service system.
If a technical professional intends to change employment within the currency of his/her permitted limit of stay, the application will only be considered if he/she remains employed in the same skilled tradeNote5 in the HKSAR and continues to meet the relevant eligibility criteria. In general, technical professionals who apply for change of employment within the period of their initial stay (i.e. 24 or 36 months) will, upon approval of their application, only be permitted to continue to work in the HKSAR for the remaining period of the original 24 or 36 months or in accordance with the duration of the employment contract (whichever is shorter), unless they have already obtained a local registration or licence to practise (if applicable) under the requirements for extension of stay (for details, please refer to the Relevant Information of Technical Professional List).
Note 5:
For skilled trades with more than one scope of work, this includes employment under the same or a different scope of work within the same skilled trade.
It normally takes four weeks to process an application for change of employment upon receipt of all the required documents. The ImmD will not be able to start processing the application unless all the required documents and information have been received.
If you have been admitted for employment under the TP Stream, you may apply to bring your spouse or the other party to a same-sex civil partnership, same-sex civil union, “same-sex marriage”, opposite-sex civil partnership or opposite-sex civil union entered into by you in accordance with the local law in force of the place of celebration and with such status being legally and officially recognised by the local authorities of the place of celebrationNote 6, and your unmarried dependent children under the age of 18 as dependants. You must, to the satisfaction of the Director of Immigration, be able to support the dependants' living at a standard well above the subsistence level and provide them with suitable accommodation in the HKSAR.
Note 6:
For the avoidance of doubt, the terms “civil partnership” and “civil union” above mean a legal institution of a nature which is akin to spousal relationship in a marriage. The same-sex civil partnership, same-sex civil union, “same-sex marriage”, opposite-sex civil partnership and opposite-sex civil union entered into in accordance with laws outside Hong Kong are limited to only relationships which are legally and officially recognised in the places of celebration. Such relationships normally have the following features: (a) the entering into and dissolution of the relationship are governed by legislation of the place where it is entered into; (b) the relationship requires registration by the competent authority specified by the legislation of the place where it is entered into; (c) the registration is evidenced in a written instrument issued by the competent authority; and (d) parties to the relationship have a mutual commitment to a shared life akin to spouses to the exclusion of others on a permanent basis. Such relationships do not include de facto spouse, partners in cohabitation, fiancé/fiancée, etc.
No. If you wish to apply for the TP Stream, you can submit your application for yourself and your accompanying dependants together through the online application service. You can apply for up to eight accompanying dependants in one online application.
Yes. For details, please click here.
Under the prevailing policy, the aforementioned persons are allowed to take up employment or study if they are permitted to reside in Hong Kong as dependant.
The length of stay of such dependants will normally be linked to that of their sponsors. If their sponsor’s employment contract is terminated before the expiry of the sponsor’s limit of stay, such dependants have to leave the HKSAR within two months from the date of termination of their sponsor’s employment contract, or before the expiry of their limit of stay, whichever is earlier.
