Frequently Asked Questions

To meet the population challenges of an ageing population and declining workforce, we must build up human capital by complementing our local workforce with non-local talent, professionals and entrepreneurs. Apart from the new Top Talent Pass Scheme, we will also enhance existing talent admission schemes to improve the attractiveness of Hong Kong on this front. Specifically, stay arrangements under the various talent admission schemes, i.e. the General Employment Policy and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals will be streamlined; the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates will be relaxed and the scope of arrangements will be expanded to cover those who graduated from the GBA campus of a Hong Kong university.

With effect from 28 December 2022, employers are not required to provide proof to substantiate their difficulties in local recruitment in making applications for talent admission if the posts offered fall under the professions with shortage of local supply as listed in the Talent List or the vacancies on offer are with an annual salary of HK$2 million or above.

The initial duration of stay upon entry for successful applicants under the GEP or ASMTP has also been relaxed from 2 years to 3 years on employment condition, or in accordance with the duration of the employment contract (whichever is shorter).

If the post offered falls under the professions with shortage of local supply as listed in the Talent List, the employer is not required to provide proof to substantiate his/her difficulties in local recruitment in making an application for talent admission. The Labour and Welfare Bureau will draw up job descriptions of the professions covered by the Talent List for employers’ reference. Persons belonging to the professions under the Talent List may apply to work in Hong Kong under the GEP and the ASMTP. All in all, an employer has to state and declare in the application form that the post offered falls under the professions as listed in the Talent List to be exempted from market availability test for talent admission. It is believed that this measure can facilitate employers to recruit talents with shortage of local supply.

It normally takes four weeks to complete the processing of applications submitted under the GEP and the ASMTP upon receipt of all the required documents.

For details of the Talent List and the professions it covers, employers may visit the website at https://www.talentlist.gov.hk/en/imf.html.

The annual salary refers to the total remuneration package including other fringe benefits such as housing allowance.

For GEP or ASMTP entrants admitted before 28 December 2022, their limit of stay will remain unchanged. They may submit an application for extension of stay within 4 weeks before their limit of stay expires. Upon approval of the application, the applicant will be granted an extension of stay in the original pattern of limit of stay on employment condition. (i.e. The pattern of limit of stay will be “3-3” year. Top-tier GEP and ASMTP entrants may be granted an extension of stay for a period of six years on time limitation only without other conditions of stay provided that the relevant eligibility criteria are met)

The enhanced measures are only applicable to the GEP and ASMTP applications submitted on or after 28 December 2022. For applications submitted before 28 December 2022, successful applicants will be granted entry in the original pattern of limit of stay. (i.e. The pattern of limit of stay will be “2+3+3” years, while the pattern for eligible top-tier entrants will be “2+6” years on time limitation only without other conditions of stay during their extension of stay)

Yes. For persons admitted under the said three schemes, notwithstanding the expiry of the 3-year limit of stay has not been approaching, they may still apply for assessment under the top-tier employment stream if the above quoted criteria are met. They will normally be granted an extension of stay on time limitation only without other conditions of stay for a period of five years upon approval. The newly extended five years of limit of stay will be counted from the original limit of stay previously granted.

With effect from 28 December 2022, the initial duration of stay upon entry for successful applicants admitted for investment as entrepreneurs (to establish or join in business) under the General Employment Policy has been relaxed from 2 years to 3 years on employment condition.

For entrants admitted for investment as entrepreneurs under the GEP before 28 December 2022, their limit of stay will remain unchanged. They may submit an application for extension of stay within 4 weeks before their limit of stay expires. Upon approval of the application, the applicant will be granted an extension of stay in the original pattern of limit of stay on employment condition (i.e. The pattern of limit of stay will be “3-3” year).

The enhanced measures are only applicable to the applications for investment as entrepreneurs under the GEP submitted on or after 28 December 2022. For applications submitted before 28 December 2022, successful applicants will be granted entry in the original pattern of limit of stay (i.e. The pattern of limit of stay will be “2+3+3” years).

The scheme aims at attracting the second generation of Chinese Hong Kong permanent residents who have emigrated overseas to return to Hong Kong. With their knowledge of foreign languages and culture, the second generation of Hong Kong emigrants with a good education background will be a valuable source of vibrant workforce. Given their family ties with Hong Kong, they may have a higher incentive to return and seek development opportunities here.

Applicants will have to meet, apart from normal immigration requirements, the following criteria:

1. aged between 18 and 40;
2. born overseas (i.e. not in the Mainland, the HKSAR, the Macao SAR or Taiwan);
3. have at least one parent who is the holder of a valid Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card at the time of application and was a Chinese national who had settled overseas at the time of the applicant’s birth;
4. have a good education background, normally a first degree, but in special circumstances, good technical qualifications, proven professional abilities and/or relevant experience and achievements supported by documentary evidence may also be accepted;
5. proficient in written and spoken Chinese (Putonghua or Cantonese) or English; and
6. have sufficient financial means and are able to meet the living expenses for his/her (including his/her dependants, if any) maintenance and accommodation in Hong Kong without recourse to public funds.

According to Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law and the interpretation adopted at the Tenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People’s Congress on 26 June 1999, persons of Chinese nationality born outside Hong Kong to Hong Kong permanent resident parents who were, at the time of birth of the persons, Chinese citizens (i) born in Hong Kong or (ii) having ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than 7 years, are Hong Kong permanent residents. According to Article 5 of the Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China, any person born abroad whose parents are both Chinese nationals and have both settled abroad, or one of whose parents is a Chinese national and has settled abroad, and who has acquired foreign nationality at birth shall not have Chinese nationality. Therefore, such persons not having Chinese nationality cannot acquire Hong Kong permanent resident status under Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law.

The COE scheme requires the applicant to be of Chinese nationality at the time of birth.  In general, this means that either of their parents, at the time of the applicant’s birth, has not yet settled overseas and accordingly the applicant remains a Chinese national.

The ASSG is applicable to those who are not eligible under the COE scheme, i.e. persons who are born overseas and not having Chinese nationality at the time of birth.

Your parent is a Chinese national if your parent has Chinese nationality under the Chinese Nationality Law as elaborated in "the interpretation of Chinese Nationality Law when applying in the HKSAR" passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the Chinese Government on 15 May 1996. In general, your parent may be regarded as a Chinese national if he/she is a Hong Kong resident of Chinese descent and born in Hong Kong or other parts of China, notwithstanding that he/she holds or has held any foreign passport, unless he/she has made a declaration of change of nationality to the HKSAR Immigration Department.

Please click here to submit an online application and upload the supporting documents.

No.  An applicant is not required to have secured an offer of employment in Hong Kong upon application under the ASSG.

Upon approval, the notification of the application result issued by the Immigration Department will include a webpage link for payment of the visa issuance fee. Payment of relevant fees can be made through the said webpage link or the GovHK website or the Immigration Department Mobile Application by credit card (VISA, Mastercard, UnionPay and JCB only), Payment by Phone Service (PPS), Faster Payment System (FPS), or Mainland China’s Licensed Digital Wallets (Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay App only).  After payment, applicants can instantly download or print the “e-Visa” by themselves.

An entrant admitted under the ASSG will normally be granted an initial stay of 24 months on time limitation only without other conditions of stay. He/she is not required to secure an employment offer upon his/her initial entry. Upon applying for extension, the applicant is required to have taken up employment which is at a level commonly taken up by degree holders and the remuneration package is at market level. For an applicant who has established or joined in business in the HKSAR, he/she is required to produce proof of his/her business. If the applicant fails to prove that he/she will continue to work in the HKSAR or has established or joined in any business, his/her application may be refused.

An entrant admitted under the ASSG may apply for extension of stay in Hong Kong within 4 weeks before the expiry of his/her limit of stay. Applicants can submit their applications online here.

An entrant admitted under the ASSG may apply to bring in his/her 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 him/her 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 celebration ^Note, and unmarried dependent children under the age of 18 to Hong Kong under the prevailing dependant policy.  He/She will be the sponsor of his/her accompanying dependants to Hong Kong.

Note:

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.

Persons admitted under the Scheme who meet the criteria stipulated in the paragraph above, and fulfil the following criteria at the time of application for extension of stay may apply for assessment under the top-tier employment stream:

1. the applicant has been permitted to remain in the HKSAR under the Scheme for not less than two years; and
2. the applicant has an assessable income for salaries tax of not less than HK$2 million in the previous year of assessment.

Successful applicants will normally be granted an extension of stay on time limitation only without other conditions of stay for a period of six years.

Persons admitted under the Admission Scheme for the Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents (ASSG) may apply for extension of stay in the HKSAR within four weeks before the expiry of their limit of stay. Upon applying for extension, applicants are required to have taken up employment which is at a level commonly taken up by degree holders and the remuneration package is at market level. For those who have established or joined in business in the HKSAR, they are required to produce proof of their business. When assessing an application for extension of stay, various factors related to the applicant’s employment or business conditions will be considered, including but not limited to the remuneration package or the operation and development of the business, the economic benefits brought by the employment or business, and the duration of stay in the HKSAR, etc. Successful applicants will normally be granted an extension of stay on time limitation only without other conditions of stay for not more than three years, or until the expiry of their employment contract in the HKSAR, whichever is shorter. For those who have established or joined in a business in the HKSAR, the length of their extension of stay to be granted will be determined based on the comprehensive consideration of the operating conditions of the relevant business.