LIS Immigration

New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES)

 The New CIES seeks to further enrich the talent pool and attract more new capital to Hong Kong. This will strengthen the development of our asset and wealth management business, financial services and related professional services.

The Scheme is applicable to :

• foreign nationals (except nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)
• Chinese nationals who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country;
• Macao Special Administrative Region residents; or
• Chinese residents of Taiwan;

To qualify for admission under the Scheme, the entrant must:

1. be aged 18 or above when applying for entry under the Scheme;
2. Net assets – applies for net asset assessment to InvestHK, i.e. demonstrating that he/she has net assets or net equity (including the respective portion of jointly-owned assets or equity with the applicant’s family member(s) which is absolutely beneficially entitled to the applicant as mentioned in paragraph 1.15 of the New Scheme Rules) to which he/she is absolutely beneficially entitled with a market value of not less than HK$30 million Net (or equivalent in foreign currencies) throughout the six months preceding the date he/she lodged the application for net asset assessment;
3. Investment in permissible investment assets – makes investment of not less than HK$30 million Net (or equivalent in foreign currencies) in the permissible investment assets to which he/ she is absolutely beneficially entitled;
4. No adverse record – demonstrates that he/she has no adverse immigration record and meets normal immigration and security requirements; and
5. Others – demonstrates to the Director of Immigration that he/she is capable of supporting and accommodating himself/herself and his/her dependents, if any, on his/her own without relying on any return on the Permissible investment assets, employment, self-employment, office, business or public assistance in or carried on in Hong Kong as the case may be. In addition, the entry of dependents will be subject to any other policy applicable to such entry at the time.

Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS)

To apply for a visa/entry permit to work in Hong Kong through the GSM Programme, applicants must meet the eligibility criteria for one of the following application categories:

• Category A applicants: Individuals with an annual income of HK$2.5 million or above (or the equivalent in foreign currency) in the year immediately preceding the application. Annual income is taxable employment or business income, including salaries, allowances, stock options, and profits from companies they own. Income generated from personal investments will not be counted.
• Category B applicants: those who have obtained a bachelor’s degree from a top 100 global university and have accumulated at least three years of work experience in the five years immediately preceding the application.
• Category C applicants: those who have received a bachelor’s degree from a top 100 global university within the five years immediately preceding the application, but have less than three years of work experience; this category of applications is subject to annual quotas and is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis . In addition, Category C applications are not applicable to non-local students studying full-time locally-accredited programs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to obtain bachelor’s degrees.

Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP)

The purpose of this scheme is to attract outstanding mainland talents and professionals with recognized qualifications to work in HKSAR, so as to meet the needs of local manpower needs and enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the globalised market. These mainland talents and professionals must possess special skills, knowledge or or experience of value to and not readily available or in shortage locally. Admitted talents and professionals must be able to contribute to the daily operation of local enterprises and related sectors, so as to promote the economic development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

*Refer to the latest updates on the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s website.

Contact Us

For more information about immigrant services at LIS Immigration Consultancy Ltd., please contact us.