Top Talent Pass Scheme

The HKSAR government continue to implement various talent admission schemes and the updated Talent List. This can proactively enrich Hong Kong’s talent pool.

1. How is the university coverage under the Top Talent Pass Scheme being expanded?

The Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address by the HKSAR government includes this expansion under the TTPS. From November 2023, the number of eligible universities under the TTPS has increased to 184. These include eight new top institutions from the Mainland and overseas. Therefore, this further expand the network for attracting global talents.

2. What are the eligibility criteria for universities to be listed in “TTPS” ?

People wishing to apply to enter the HKSAR under the TTPS do not have to acquire an offer of employment in the HKSAR upon application. If applicants can meet normal immigration requirements without specific conditions to stay, the HKSAR government may grant them a 24-month time-limited stay. Applicants may choose to apply for the TTPS under one of the categories listed in paragraphs (a) to (c) below:

  • People with annual income reaching HK$2.5 million or above, or its equivalent in foreign currency, in the year immediately before the date of application. (Category A)
  • Degree graduates of the world’s top 100 universities, with at least three years of work experience over the past five years immediately before the date of application. (Category B)
  • Degree graduates of the world’s top 100 universities in the past five years before the date of application with less than three years of work experience. They are subject to first-come, first-served annual quotas (Category C). Nevertheless, Category C does not apply to those non-local students who have obtained the undergraduate qualification in a local full-time programme in the HKSAR.

3. Which type of candidate will be considered favourable for the Top Talent Pass Scheme?

  • The applicant has no security objection and no record of serious crime
  • The annual quota is available for allotment (applicable to Category C’s applicants only).
  • The applicant have permanent residence overseas
  • The applicant has been living overseas for at least one year immediately before the submission of application. (“overseas” means countries or territories outside the Mainland, the HKSAR, the Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR) and Taiwan) Additionally, the applicant should submit their applications from overseas

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