Hong Kong Quality Migrant Talent Scheme

Overview

This website aims at providing information to individuals who wish to come to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (the Scheme). The information set out below serves as a reference only. The Immigration Department of the Government of the HKSAR may change the rules and criteria listed below from time to time without prior notice. Any person who wishes to submit an application under the Scheme is advised to make enquiry with the Immigration Department of the Government of the HKSAR for up-to-date information applicable to the time of his/her making an application.

Scheme Objective

The Scheme is an entrant scheme. It is quota-based and seeks to attract highly skilled or talented persons who are fresh entrants not having the right to enter and remain in Hong Kong to settle in Hong Kong in order to enhance Hong Kong's economic competitiveness in the global market. Successful applicants are not required to secure an offer of local employment before their entry to Hong Kong for settlement. All applicants are required to fulfill a set of prerequisites before they can be awarded points under one of the two points-based tests, namely the General Points Test and Achievement-based Points Test, and compete for quota allocation with other applicants. Successful applicants under the Scheme may bring their spouse and unmarried dependent children under the age of 18 to Hong Kong provided that they are capable of supporting and accommodating their dependants on their own financial resources without relying on public assistance in Hong Kong.

Scope of the Scheme

The Scheme is not applicable to nationals of Afghanistan, Albania, Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, Korea (Democratic People's Republic of), Nepal and Vietnam.

Selection Mechanism

Stage 1: Prerequisites

All applicants under the Scheme are required to fulfill a set of prerequisites before they can be awarded points under one of the two points-based tests under the Scheme.

Stage 2: Points-based test

Applicants who have met all the prerequisites may choose to be assessed either under a General Points Test or Achievement-based Points Test. There are five point-scoring factors under the General Points Test and one point-scoring factor under the Achievement-based Points Test.

A minimum passing mark is set under the General Points Test. Persons who choose the General Points Test category are advised to assess whether their credentials are adequate to meet the minimum passing mark before submitting an application.

Stage 3: Selection exercise

Selection exercises will be done on a regular basis for quota allocation to applicants. During each selection exercise, applications which satisfy both the prerequisites and the minimum passing mark (under the General Points Test) or the one point-scoring factor (under the Achievement-based Points Test) will be ranked according to scores awarded. High scoring applications will be short-listed for further assessment. The Director of Immigration may seek advice from an Advisory Committee on the assessment, point-scoring and allocation of quota under the Scheme. The Advisory Committee comprises official and non-official members appointed by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR. The Advisory Committee will consider the socio-economic needs of Hong Kong, the sectoral mix of candidates and other relevant factors, and recommend to the Director of Immigration how best to allocate available quota in each selection exercise. High-scoring applications do not necessarily secure quota allotment. Results of each selection exercise will be published on the Immigration Department website. As it will take time to process applications, applicants may regard their applications as being under processing unless they have received a notification of refusal from the Immigration Department.

Stage 4: Approval-in-principle

Applicants who are allotted a quota in the selection exercise will be issued with an Approval-in-principle letter. Such applicants are required to come to Hong Kong to personally attend an interview and present originals of all documents submitted during the application to the Immigration Department for verification. They may enter Hong Kong on visitor conditions for this purpose. An Approval-in-principle letter issued to an applicant does not automatically guarantee approval of his/her entry to or remain in Hong Kong under the Scheme.

Stage 5: Issue of entry visa/entry permit

If all original documents are satisfactorily verified and all relevant application procedures are finalized, the successful applicant will be issued with an entry visa/entry permit under the Scheme for stay in Hong Kong.

Prerequisites

All applicants must satisfy all of the following prerequisites:

Age

The applicant must be aged between 18 and 50 when lodging an application under the Scheme.

Financial requirement

The applicant must be able to demonstrate that he/she is capable of supporting and accommodating himself/herself and his/her dependants, if any, on his/her own financial resources without relying on public assistance during his/her stay in Hong Kong.

Good character

The applicant should not have any criminal record or adverse immigration record in Hong Kong or elsewhere.

Language proficiency

The applicant should be proficient in written and spoken Chinese (Putonghua or Cantonese) or English.

Basic educational qualification

The applicant must have a good education background, normally a first degree from a recognized university or a tertiary educational institution. In special circumstances, good technical qualifications, proven professional abilities and/or experience and achievements supported by documentary evidence may be considered.

If the applicant fails to provide satisfactory supporting documents showing that he/she meets all the above prerequisites, his/her application will not be processed further and will be refused immediately.

Points-based Tests

Applicants who meet all the prerequisites may choose to be assessed further either under the General Points Test or Achievement-based Points Test. Each applicant may only submit one application and be assessed under one test at a time.

General Points Test

Details of the five point-scoring factors of the General Points Test are listed below:

Minimum passing mark

A minimum passing mark is set under the General Points Test. Interested parties are advised to assess whether their credentials are adequate to meet the minimum passing mark before submitting an application. The minimum passing mark is subject to change from time to time.

Prevailing Minimum Passing Mark

The prevailing minimum passing mark is 80.

Achievement-based Points Test

The Scheme also caters for the entry of individuals with exceptional talent or skill who have outstanding achievements. They may choose to be assessed under a separate Achievement-based Points Test. Requirement under this test is very high. Assessment under this test focuses on achievements attained by applicants and applicants who opt to be assessed under this test are claiming a scoring of 165 points under one scoring factor only. Those who are considered to have met one of the criteria under this test listed in the following paragraph will be awarded 165 points; otherwise, no point will be awarded. Applications which fail to score points under this test will be refused immediately.

Points may be awarded under this test if:

1. the applicant has received an award of exceptional achievement (e.g. Olympic medals, Nobel prize, national/international awards); or
2. the applicant can show that his/her work has been acknowledged by his/her peers or has contributed significantly to the development of his/her field (e.g. lifetime achievement award from industry).

Entry Arrangement

Applicants who are allotted a quota in the selection exercise will be issued with an Approval-in-principle letter through which they are invited to come to Hong Kong to attend an interview in person and submit the original of a certificate of no criminal conviction, or the equivalent, from each country/territory where he/she has lived in for 12 months or longer since attaining the age of 10, and produce originals of all documents submitted during the application to the Immigration Department for verification. In addition to the above, an applicant who is a resident in the Mainland of China, including those who are currently residing in Hong Kong or Macau on a temporary basis, must submit a letter of consent from his/her present working unit or relevant Mainland authorities where his/her records are kept agreeing to release him/her to reside in Hong Kong. A sample of this letter of consent will be sent to the Mainland applicant together with the Approval-in-principle letter. Dependants of an applicant are not required to come to Hong Kong to attend the interview.

An Approval-in-principle is not a formal approval of an entry visa/entry permit under the Scheme. An applicant must fully satisfy the Immigration Department that all statements made or information provided during the application are true and complete before a formal approval could be granted.

After formal approval is granted, the applicant and his/her dependants, if any, will be issued with an entry visa/entry permit for stay in Hong Kong under the Scheme. The visa/permit label should be affixed onto a blank visa page of the applicant's valid travel document for presentation to an immigration officer upon arrival in Hong Kong.

A Hong Kong resident who has previously entered Hong Kong pursuant to any immigration policy or scheme (including, but not limited to, the General Employment Policy and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals) and is subject to a condition/conditions of stay in Hong Kong may only apply under the Scheme on condition that his/her application will be assessed on the basis that the applicant, his/her spouse and dependent children(if any), are regarded as fresh entrants not having the right to enter and remain in Hong Kong. Upon formal approval, the applicant will be issued with an entry visa/entry permit under the Scheme.

A resident in the Mainland of China, including those who are currently residing in Hong Kong or Macau on a temporary basis, is required to obtain a proper Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau (EEP) and a relevant exit endorsement before coming to Hong Kong for residence under the Scheme if his/her application is approved.

An overseas Chinese national holding a PRC passport who submits an application from overseas and who has obtained overseas permanent residence or who has been residing overseas for at least one year immediately before submission of the application ("overseas" means places outside the Mainland, the HKSAR and the Macau SAR) may apply to come to Hong Kong for residence under the Scheme on strength of his/her valid PRC passport. The EEP and relevant exit endorsement mentioned in the above paragraph are not required for the purpose of entering Hong Kong under the Scheme in respect of the above mentioned overseas Chinese national.

Fee

No application fee is chargeable upon application submission. The prescribed fee for the issue of a visa, entry permit, or extension of stay under the Scheme is HK$160.

Entry of Dependants

Applicants under the Scheme may apply to bring their spouse and unmarried dependent children under the age of 18 to Hong Kong under prevailing dependant policy. Persons admitted or applying for admission under the Scheme will be a sponsor of his/her accompanying dependants to Hong Kong. Dependants of persons admitted under the Scheme will normally be granted permission to remain in Hong Kong in line with the sponsor.

Applicants under the Scheme are advised to submit dependant visa/entry permit applications for all accompanying family members together with their entry applications. If an applicant is claiming points on the basis of the educational level of the accompanying married spouse and/or the number of accompanying unmarried dependent children under the age of 18 under the General Points Test, he/she must submit dependant visa/entry permit applications for the accompanying family members concerned together with his/her application under the Scheme.

Extension of Stay Applications

Persons and their dependants admitted under the Scheme are subject to a limit of stay during their stay in Hong Kong until the time that they acquire the permanent resident status under Hong Kong laws. They are required to apply for extension of stay one month before the expiry of their limit of stay if they intend to continue residence in Hong Kong. Upon completion of a continuous period of ordinary residence in Hong Kong for not less than seven years, the admitted person and/or his/her dependants may apply for the right of abode in Hong Kong in accordance with the laws.

To obtain an extension of stay at the end of the first 12-month period, a person admitted under the Scheme is required to provide evidence demonstrating to the satisfaction of the Immigration Department that he/she has taken steps to settle in Hong Kong by taking up residence here, e.g. by securing a gainful employment or establishing a business.

To be eligible for further extension of stay, a person admitted under the Scheme is required to provide evidence demonstrating to the satisfaction of the Immigration Department that:

1. he/she has settled in Hong Kong; and
2. he/she has made contribution to Hong Kong, such as engaging in a graduate, specialist or senior level gainful employment or establishing a business of a reasonable size in Hong Kong.