In 2024, Hong Kong's immigration policy will be relaxed, and there are 8 ways to settle in Hong Kong, there is always one suitable for you!
Can you believe it?
Since the Hong Kong SAR government launched a number of "talent grabbing" measures at the end of 2022, the number of Hong Kong identity applicants has surged several times compared with previous years.
As at the end of April this year, about 290,000 applications had been received under the various talent admission schemes in Hong Kong, and nearly 180,000 were approved.
Among them, a total of 76,985 applications were received, of which 12,689 were approved, only 16% were approved, and 76,729 applications were not yet processed.
Hong Kong's remarkable achievements in talent competition are inseparable from the implementation of various favorable policies for talent introduction, as well as the attractiveness of Hong Kong's identity.
Everyone is grabbing the Hong Kong identity, do you know what ways you can apply?
If you want to settle in Hong Kong to get a Hong Kong identity, it is not so simple, in addition to meeting the basic requirements of the Hong Kong government to submit information, you also need to have a competitive advantage to be successfully approved by the Immigration Department, so it is very important to choose the right application channel.
At present, there are a total of 8 ways to apply for Hong Kong identity, namely:
1. Dependent: If your parents, children, and spouse are permanent residents of Hong Kong, you can apply for a one-way permit to move to Hong Kong through the dependency policy, and you can directly obtain Hong Kong status. Parents and children are not destined to choose, so the only option to choose is to find a Hong Kong person to marry, wait for about 4 years after marriage, and get enough points to get a one-way permit to go to Hong Kong.
2. Study abroad: You can apply for a Hong Kong identity card if you are studying in Hong Kong for a full-time bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree, and you can apply for an IANG visa to stay and work in Hong Kong according to the Residence Scheme for non-local graduates after graduation, and you can apply to become a permanent resident of Hong Kong after a total of 7 years.
3. Talent Program: Relying on the individual's past achievements, the comprehensive evaluation of age, education, work experience, family background, language ability, industry occupation, etc. It should be said that the QMAS is currently a widely applicable talent introduction scheme in Hong Kong, and at the same time, it is more free to renew and transfer to permanent residence. However, it is a relatively slow plan, and the Immigration Department hopes to complete the review in 5 months, but the current reality is that it takes about 6-9 months to complete the review cycle.
4. Talent plan: that is, to come to Hong Kong to find a job, and the company guarantees a visa. It is considered the most restrictive plan, because the applicant must find a Hong Kong company to hire him, and he cannot change employers casually, and many people have been fired during the epidemic and lost their status. However, the good thing is that generally speaking, you can get the status in 1-3 months, which is still very fast.
5. TTP Program: Bachelor's degree is a graduate of one of the world's top 100 universities or an annual income of more than 250w Hong Kong dollars. TTP is currently the top talent introduction program in Hong Kong, so the threshold is the highest, but the approval speed is also the fastest and most convenient, usually within 1 month to complete the material review, get the visa.
6. Science and Talent Program: Graduated from the world's top 100 universities in Stem disciplines (science, technology, engineering or mathematics), and at the same time employed by a Hong Kong company to engage in full-time research and development in 13 high-tech industries such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuit design, quantum technology, robotics technology, etc., with a limit of 100 people per year per company.
7. Hong Kong Entrepreneur Program: Entrepreneurs from overseas, Taiwan and Macao who plan to set up or participate in business in Hong Kong, and who can make significant contributions to the Hong Kong economy with good educational background, technical qualifications or proven professional experience, can obtain Hong Kong status by investing in and setting up enterprises in Hong Kong.
8. Investment Immigration Program: The program has just been relaunched this year, mainly for foreign residents, Chinese nationals who have obtained foreign permanent residence and Macao and Taiwan people, who need to invest no less than HK$30 million in net assets or net capital in Hong Kong for 7 consecutive years to obtain Hong Kong status.
Among the above 8 ways, kinship mainly depends on reincarnation and marriage, which has no reference value for ordinary people. The Hong Kong Entrepreneur Scheme excludes mainland residents, and the application threshold is not low, which is also not of reference value. The threshold for the Talent Program and investment immigration is very high, the conditions are very strict, and only a few people meet the requirements, so they are not the mainstream application path.
Therefore, after excluding the dependents, Hong Kong Entrepreneur Program, Science and Technology Program, and Investment Immigration Program, there are only 4 mainstream ways left, and we will introduce them in detail.
1. Hong Kong Quality Migrant Scheme
It has been 17 years since the Hong Kong Quality Migrant Admission Scheme was promulgated and implemented in 2006, and this policy is mainly aimed at attracting high-skilled talents or talents to settle in Hong Kong and enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness. Successful applicants are not required to secure an offer of appointment from a local employer before entering Hong Kong for settlement.
1. Application conditions
All applicants must first meet the basic eligibility requirements before they can obtain points under one of the two points systems set up by the Scheme to compete for quotas with other applicants.
Basic Application Requirements:
Age: 18 years old and above;
Character: No criminal record, bad entry record;
Financial ability: enough to cover the living expenses of the first year for myself and my dependents (120,000 yuan for individuals and 360,000 yuan for families);
Language: Good command of written and spoken Chinese or English (spoken Chinese refers to Mandarin or Cantonese);
Education: Bachelor degree or above;
Choose one of the two points system
Achievement Points System: It is suitable for national or international awards in the fields of culture and sports, as long as it meets the requirements, it can be approved, and the score is only 0 points and 245 points, and 0 points are directly rejected.
Comprehensive Points Test (GPT): The maximum score is 245 points, the minimum passing score is 80 points, and the comprehensive assessment is based on the applicant's age, education, job, language ability, family, etc., and the General Points Test is more suitable for most of the qualified excellent applicants.
2. Relaxation of policies:
(1) Abolish the quota limit for QMAS applications for two years, i.e. 2023-2024;
(2) The duration of stay for the first time is adjusted to 3 years, and the renewal mode is 3+3+2 years;
(3) Adjust the talent scoring system, the full score is changed to 245, and the new famous enterprises will be given an additional 20 points;
(4) Cancel the interview process and shorten the approval process and approval time;
(5) Fully open the online application channel and cancel the offline/mail submission method;
(6) The list of talents has been expanded from 13 to 51 professional talents;
(7) The online application system has been comprehensively upgraded and revised, and the senior management bonus points have been adjusted.
2. The Hong Kong TTPS Scheme
The TTPS aims to attract high-end talents with extensive work experience and high academic qualifications from all over the world, including high-income earners and graduates of the world's top universities, to explore opportunities in Hong Kong.
Successful applicants are not required to secure an offer of appointment from a local employer before entering Hong Kong for settlement.
1. Application conditions
As long as you meet one of the following three categories of talents, you can submit an application for the Hong Kong TTPS, which will generally be approved in 1-3 months:
Category A: Persons with an annual income of HK$2.5 million or above (or its equivalent in foreign currency) in the year immediately preceding the application;
Category B: Applicants who have obtained a bachelor's degree from an eligible university and have accumulated at least 3 years of working experience within the 5 years immediately preceding the date of application;
Category C: Applicants who have obtained a bachelor's degree from an eligible university within the 5 years immediately preceding the date of application but have less than 3 years of working experience. These applications are subject to annual quotas and are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Eligible Universities: refers to the 185 universities/institutions listed in the Consolidated List of Eligible Universities approved by the Immigration Department of Hong Kong.
2. Relax policies
(1) No criminal record must be provided, and relevant materials that have been submitted but are still under review also need to be submitted.
(2) Academic qualification certification reports need to be submitted, and academic qualifications such as college upgrades, distance teaching, correspondence courses, and online education are no longer recognized.
(3) After approval, the activation validity period is shortened, from 6 months to 3 months.
(4) The application categories have been added, occupations and sectors have been added to the Category A application, and major subjects have been added to the Category B application.
(6) 12 new top domestic and foreign universities are eligible, including 4 new universities in the mainland: Wuhan University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Harbin Institute of Technology and Central South University.
(7) The requirements for the proportion of equity in the enterprise category have been relaxed, and the owner of the joint venture can apply for more than 50% of the shares according to the profit amount of the corresponding equity ratio of the net profit of the enterprise, and it is no longer necessary to occupy 100% of the shares, and there is no need for a sole proprietorship company.
3. Hong Kong Talent Scheme
It is the Hong Kong government's aim to attract some mainland professionals with recognised qualifications to work in Hong Kong, fill the talent gap in Hong Kong, and enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness in the international market. Applicants not only need to possess the professional knowledge, skills or experience required in Hong Kong, but also need to be employed by a local employer in Hong Kong.
1. Application conditions
1) Talent requirements through the way he hires
(1) Undergraduate degree certificate/professional qualification certificate (under special circumstances, college degree or good professional qualification certificate will be accepted);
(2) No bad criminal record;
(3) The applicant may be employed by a Hong Kong company, or self-employed by a Hong Kong company founded by him/herself, or dispatched to Hong Kong by a strong mainland parent company;
(4) the salary and package of the employed Hong Kong job is equivalent to the market salary level of similar employment in Hong Kong;
(5) The applicant has a good educational background, technical qualifications or proven professional experience.
2) Talent requirements through self-employment
For talents applying for Hong Kong professionals through self-employment, the company to be established needs to meet the following conditions:
Establishment time: at least one year or more (under special circumstances, such as huge investment, high-tech industry, internal transfer, etc., you can try to apply for less than one year)
Substantive operation: have a local office address in Hong Kong, have proof of MPF payment by no less than 3 local employees for a period of not less than 6 months, and have an annual turnover of not less than HKD 3 million
Job vacancies: Emphatically prove that there are indeed vacancies for the job and it is difficult to find suitable candidates in Hong Kong
2. Relax policies
If the applicant falls within one of the 51 professions listed in the Talent List;
or if the annual salary of the recruited position is more than HK$2 million, you can apply directly without proving the difficulty of local recruitment.
4. Study in Hong Kong Scheme
The Hong Kong Study and Study Scheme refers to the Immigration Arrangement for Non-local Graduates in Hong Kong, which is a talent policy formulated by the Hong Kong SAR Government to encourage overseas students to study and work in Hong Kong.
Usually, the most applied is a one-year master's program, so as to obtain a student visa to stay in Hong Kong, and after graduation, you can unconditionally obtain a 24-month Immigration Arrangement for Non-local Graduates (i.e. IANG visa), renew and change jobs, and apply for Hong Kong permanent residence status after studying + working for 7 years.
1. Application conditions for graduate school
(1) Basic conditions:
Good command of both English and Chinese;
No criminal record and no adverse entry record;
Bachelor's degree;
During the period of study in Hong Kong, applicants can bear the relevant living expenses of themselves and their dependents.
*In the case of undergraduate without degree, no less than 10 years of executive work experience is required
(2) Meet the enrollment requirements of Hong Kong schools:
Different schools and majors have different application requirements.
Compared with other majors, science and engineering majors are more professional and technical, and it requires the applicant's previous major to be the same or related to the major they want to apply for, making it difficult to apply for cross-majors, and the future employment field is relatively professional and fixed.
Liberal arts majors are generally mostly majors that Chinese and Chinese graduates such as English, Chinese and other majors are willing to apply for, and this major has higher requirements for language ability and social practice experience.
In addition to the Eight Universities, there are many study abroad majors that do not require English scores at all, and you do not need to have a background in famous schools and enterprises, as long as you have a bachelor's degree, such as metropolitan universities, Zhuhai University and other majors with low thresholds to choose from.
2. Relax policies
The IANG period of stay will be extended from 1 year to 2 years; Extended on a trial basis for 2 years to cover all graduates of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes of local universities on their campuses in the GBA, with no quota.
It is recommended to find a professional to make an assessment before applying, and then make the next step after understanding the approval rate.
2024 is undoubtedly a crucial time for those who are interested in applying for Hong Kong status. This year's QMAS is implementing a special policy with no quota restrictions, but this opportunity will come to an end at the end of the year. At the same time, TTP will also face a policy review at the end of the year, and there is uncertainty about the direction of policy in the coming year, whether it is further easing or moderate tightening.
Therefore, it is a critical time for individuals who meet the application criteria to seize the opportunity to take positive action and not miss out on this valuable opportunity that could change the trajectory of their careers and lives.
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