Hong Kong immigration authorities announced a new fee structure for visa applications under specified schemes.

Key Points:

  • Effective Feb. 26, principal applicants under specified admission schemes and their dependents are now required to pay an application fee and a corresponding visa issuance fee according to a two-tiered fee structure.
  • Applicants pay an application fee of $600 for each application under a specified admission scheme for entry, change of conditions of stay or extension of limit of stay.
  • Under the two-tiered visa issuance fee structure, applicants then pay a visa/entry permit fee based on the length of the limit of stay.
    • The original flat rate of $230 has increased to $600 for stays of up to 180 days and $1,300 for stays of 181 days or more.
  • Pursuant to the amended Immigration Regulations (Cap. 115A), the above fees apply to the following admission schemes:
    • Top Talent Pass Scheme
    • General Employment Policy
    • Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals
    • Quality Migrant Admission Scheme
    • Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates
    • Admission Scheme for the Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents
    • New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme
    • Capital Investment Entrant Scheme
    • Technology Talent Admission Scheme
    • Vocational Professionals Admission Scheme
  • The list of specified schemes and updated fee structure have been uploaded to the dedicated Immigration Department website.

Additional Information: The Director of Immigration considers these admission schemes as crucial elements of the government’s overall objective to attract talent and asset owners to settle in Hong Kong for development purposes. The 2025-26 budget introduced the new fee structure for these various admission schemes to recover administrative costs incurred in processing applications and reflect the “user pays” principle, according to the official statement. The number of applications grew more than 250% compared to 2022, and the various admission schemes have been well-received by talent and capital investors since their introduction.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.

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