Immigration initiatives announced

The Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address last week included a series of measures designed to attract foreign nationals to live and work in Hong Kong.

Key Points:

• Re-implement a Capital Investment Entrant Scheme that will provide entry to Hong Kong for foreign investors who invest at least 30 million HKD (about US$3.8 million) in assets such as stock, bonds and funds (not including real estate). Hong Kong introduced the scheme in 2003 but suspended it in 2015.

• Expand the coverage of universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme by adding eight schools to the network, bringing the total to 184. The program allows foreign nationals to live and work in Hong Kong for two years if they have an annual salary of at least 2.5 million HKD, have graduated from one of the world’s top 100 universities and have at least three years of work experience.

• Relax visa requirements for talent from Laos, Nepal and Vietnam.

• Provide issuance of two-year multiple-entry visas for mainland Chinese employees of companies registered in Hong Kong.

• Create a pilot program to allow foreign students at some vocational schools to remain in Hong Kong for one year following graduation to find a relevant job in their field. The program will be reviewed after two years.

Background: More information on the changes announced in the policy address are available here.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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