Recently, many friends have sent private messages in the background, and now they want to get a Hong Kong or Singapore identity, but they don't know which one is better!
1. They are all Chinese circles, and you can communicate well only in Mandarin;
2. The distance is also close, Hong Kong is close to Shenzhen, you can pass the customs by walking, Singapore is not far away, most cities fly over in 5-6 hours by plane
Hong Kong VS Singapore are two charming cities in the East, and there are so many similarities that some people describe Singapore and Hong Kong as "A Tale of Two Cities", comparing the two together.
I believe that many friends who consider Hong Kong identity have paid more or less attention to understand Singapore's permanent residence status, and many people will consider working and living in these two places, today we will compare the advantages and disadvantages of the two in all aspects.
Image source | Internet
In terms of finance, Hong Kong, together with London and New York, is known as "Nuremberg", which is recognized as the world's three major financial centers, and because of this factor, Hong Kong is slightly better than Singapore in terms of finance.
From an IPO perspective, Hong Kong is stronger. In particular, Hong Kong's unique geographical location is backed by the motherland, and mainland companies are more inclined to list in Hong Kong than Singapore.
01 Children's education
Both Singapore and Hong Kong follow the Commonwealth education system and use bilingual education, and there are more international schools.
Schools in Singapore give priority to citizens and permanent residents, and foreigners who want to attend government schools must pass the AEIS exam. However, its annual pass rate is less than 20 per cent. The difficulty can be imagined.
Secondly, the difference in tuition fees. The gap between high school tuition fees for permanent residents and international students is widening year by year. In 2020, public high school tuition for foreign students will reach $1750/month. In comparison, students with permanent residency status are only $460/month. The difference between the two is almost $1300, which is S$15,600 a year.
Image source | Internet
In Hong Kong, children with Hong Kong identity can attend schools in Hong Kong (including non-permanent residence), and Hong Kong implements 15 years of compulsory education (3 years of kindergarten + 6 years of primary school + 3 years of junior high school + 3 years of high school). It adopts the three-language parallel education model of "Mandarin, Cantonese and English". Students only need to pay tuition fees every semester to attend public primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. As long as you obtain Hong Kong status, you can enjoy the same treatment as Hong Kong permanent residents, you can take the Hong Kong DSE examination together, apply for Hong Kong universities and schools in other countries and regions, and you can also apply to 129 prestigious schools in the mainland.
02Advance to university
In terms of education, Hong Kong can enjoy high-quality education in Hong Kong as long as it has Hong Kong resident status, while Singapore has priority over foreigners for citizens and permanent residents.
In terms of applying for universities, the advantages of the two in applying for foreign famous schools and entering mainland famous universities through the overseas Chinese students joint examination are not much different, the only difference may be in applying to local universities, Singapore's local universities such as Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore world ranking is higher than Hong Kong's three major Chinese science and technology, but Hong Kong crushes Singapore in the number of universities, Hong Kong 8 universities in QS, THE and other rankings all year round, but Singapore in addition to the above two institutions, no other institutions have world rankings.
Image source | Internet
In the DSE examination over the years, 30-40% of Hong Kong candidates have been admitted to the 8 universities in Hong Kong, while the Singapore candidates admitted to the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University account for only about 15% of all candidates, so Singapore's study abroad rate is higher than that of Hong Kong.
03 Tax distinction
In terms of taxation, Singapore and Hong Kong have excellent tax systems, there is no inheritance tax, and Hong Kong does not have value-added tax and capital gains tax, corporate profits tax is low, no more than 2 million yuan of profit tax rate, profit more than two million part tax rate is, personal income tax up to 17%.
Singapore's personal income tax rate is around 0-22%, and different rates apply to both resident and non-resident taxpayers in Singapore.
Another important feature of Hong Kong's tax system is territorial taxation, taxpayers are only liable to pay income sourced in Hong Kong, and income sourced outside Hong Kong is not subject to tax.
Image source | Internet
04 Immigration comparison
In terms of immigration policy, Hong Kong and Singapore are more different, and Singapore favors the capital income of the wealthy class, such as the Singapore family office project, which has raised the threshold significantly.
Compared with Singapore's identity, after moving to Hong Kong through a series of talent programs in Hong Kong to obtain Hong Kong identity, you can still choose to retain your mainland hukou, "immigrants do not move", you can enjoy both the benefits of Hong Kong identity and the benefits of the mainland.
Image source | Internet
Let's start with the conclusion - close to the mainland, this is the biggest advantage of Hong Kong permanent residence over Singapore permanent residence! Proximity here refers not only to the physical closeness, but also to the proximity of policy convenience and development dividends.
Many applicants who obtain Hong Kong status through merit still retain the focus of their lives and work in the mainland, on the one hand, because the renewal of merit is relatively relaxed. On the other hand, the benefits of Hong Kong identity in the mainland are too many!
In terms of children's education, there is not much difference from Singapore permanent residence, both are easy to enter international schools and pass the overseas Chinese students joint examination 400 points to enter 985 institutions, etc., these will not go into detail, see what Hong Kong identity in the mainland Singapore permanent residence can not enjoy.
1. Individual tax subsidy 15%
For high-end talents and talents in short supply working in the Greater Bay Area, the people's governments of the nine cities in the Pearl River Delta will give financial subsidies to the people's governments of the nine cities in the Pearl River Delta that have paid more than 15% of the income tax payable by them, and the subsidies are exempt from individual income tax.
Nine cities in the Pearl River Delta: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing.
To put it simply, people with Hong Kong status who work in the nine cities of the Pearl River Delta and meet the criteria for overseas high-end talents and talents in short supply can enjoy financial subsidies (tax refunds). Hong Kong status here refers not only to permanent residents, but also to those who have obtained Hong Kong status under the entry scheme such as gifted and talented.
Specific subsidy amount = Greater Bay Area IIT tax paid - income payable * 15%
According to the income tax declaration guidelines issued by the Shenzhen Municipal Government, the amount of personal income tax subsidy for persons with Hong Kong status who meet the requirements can reach up to 5 million yuan a year! Spending tens of thousands of yuan to apply for a Hong Kong identity can leverage hundreds of thousands or millions of subsidies, which is simply not too fragrant!
2. Start-up subsidies
In March 2021, the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Guangdong Province announced that Hong Kong and Macao youths who successfully set up start-ups in the Hong Kong and Macao Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Base will be provided with a rent subsidy of up to RMB6,000 per year for up to three years, and a one-off start-up subsidy of RMB10,000.
At the same time, Hong Kong and Macao youths will be included in the key support targets of start-up guarantee loans, and eligible Hong Kong and Macao youths can apply for loans of up to 5 million yuan and enjoy interest discount support.
3. Buying a house (Greater Bay Area)
The "16 Measures to Benefit Hong Kong" announced in 2019 have eased the restrictions on Hong Kong and Macao residents buying houses in the mainland. Hong Kong people (who do not need to use residence) can freely purchase a house for their own use in the nine cities of the Greater Bay Area (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Huizhou, Zhaoqing, Jiangmen and Zhuhai) without providing proof of work, study, etc.
Taking Shenzhen as an example, non-Shenzhen households need to pay social security for 5 years to buy a house, while Hong Kong residents can buy a house in Shenzhen without paying social insurance.
In addition, if you have a Hong Kong identity, it will be much easier to buy a house in Beijing or Shanghai.
4. Elderly allowance
Elderly persons with household registration in Hong Kong are elderly in Guangdong and Fujian provinces, and applicants do not need to return to Hong Kong every year to enjoy the old age living allowance issued by the Hong Kong government.
Seniors aged 65 or above can apply for a monthly subsistence allowance of 3915 if they meet the income and asset requirements. In addition, 70 pairs of applicants and above can also receive an additional old age allowance of 1385 yuan/month.
5. It is convenient to transfer back to the Mainland hukou
Many friends obtain Hong Kong identity for the purpose of their children's education, and when this demand is met, everyone will still be concerned: Can I transfer back to the mainland hukou?
Friends who have this doubt do not need to worry, the mainland government has public guidelines: after the former mainland hukou residents transfer to Hong Kong and Macao household registration, they can apply to return to the mainland to settle down (take the mainland hukou again).
Because China allows dual status but does not recognize dual citizenship, it is much less difficult to exchange for a mainland hukou after obtaining permanent residence in Hong Kong than in Singapore.
6. Scholarships
The number and amount of scholarships for overseas Chinese students of Hong Kong and Macao nationality studying in mainland universities are guaranteed: the proportion of scholarships will not be less than 30%, and the amount of scholarships for Hong Kong, Macao and overseas Chinese students is stipulated to be 6,170.
There are 4 levels of scholarships for each academic level, including Grand Prize, First Prize, Second Prize and Third Prize.
The annual scholarships correspond to: 8000, 6000, 5000, 4000 yuan for junior college students; 20,000 yuan, 10,000, 7,000, 5,000 yuan for master's students; 30,000, 15,000, 10,000, 7,000 yuan for doctoral students.
7. Recruitment of Hong Kong and Macao civil servants
As a "pilot demonstration zone", Shenzhen has started the recruitment of civil servants for Hong Kong and Macao nationals. In December 2020, in the special recruitment examination for the construction of "dual districts" in Shenzhen, a total of 5 positions were targeted for Hong Kong and Macao selection, involving administration, finance, urban planning, foreign-related personnel management, medical supervision and other aspects, attracting 446 Hong Kong and Macao nationals to apply at that time.
Not only Shenzhen, but also Guangzhou successfully recruited four Hong Kong and Macao civil servants in 2021.