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At 11am today (25th), the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), John Lee Ka-chiu, delivered the Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address at the conference hall of the Legislative Council Complex.
In the context of the Hong Kong government's "grabbing enterprises and talents", Lee Ka-chiu officially announced in the Policy Address that he would re-implement the "Capital Investment Entry Scheme"!
Investors who invest HK$30 million or above in stocks, funds, bonds and other assets (excluding real estate) in Hong Kong can apply to enter Hong Kong through the Scheme to enhance the development advantages of Hong Kong's asset and wealth management, finance and related professional services sectors, and more details will be announced within this year.
This is Hong Kong's first restart of investment immigration after 8 years! Initially, in 2003, the Hong Kong Capital Investor Entrant (ICE) Scheme was launched to allow people who bring money into Hong Kong but are not involved in carrying on business in Hong Kong to settle in Hong Kong.
Investors do not need to open or operate any business in Hong Kong, but only need to invest not less than HK$6.5 million in designated investment categories such as real estate or financial assets to settle in Hong Kong as a family, but the scheme does not cover mainland residents.
Then, in 2015, the Hong Kong government halted the policy. At that time, a government spokesman pointed out that the implementation of the scheme in 2003 coincided with the economic downturn in Hong Kong and the need to attract foreign investment to Hong Kong to stimulate economic growth. Considering the economic situation of the HKSAR, the focus should no longer be on attracting capital investors to Hong Kong, but on attracting talents, professionals and creative entrepreneurs.
Policy development of the Hong Kong Investor Immigration Scheme
★ October 2003: In order to revive the depressed economy hit by SARS, the HKSAR Government launched the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme for the first time, which aims to allow investors who intend to invest no less than HK$6.5 million in Hong Kong but do not participate in business in Hong Kong.
★ October 2010: The HKSAR government adjusted the immigration policy, raising the revised declaration requirement from HK$6.5 million to HK$10 million, and requiring the exclusion of the amount invested in real estate.
★ January 2015: The Hong Kong SAR government announced that it would suspend the acceptance of investment immigration applications and abolish the CIES policy. The main reason is based on the study of the economic situation at that time and the necessity of the policy. So far, the scheme has brought a total of 37,000 investment immigrants to Hong Kong.
★ February 2023: The HKSAR Government announced in the "Introducing Enterprises and Pooling Talents" section of the 2023/2024 Annual Budget that it would introduce a mechanism for re-domiciliation of companies to attract non-local enterprises to re-domicle to Hong Kong; Launch of the new Capital Investment Entrant Scheme: Applicants who invest a certain amount of assets (excluding property investment) in Hong Kong can come to live and develop in Hong Kong upon approval.
★ 18 August 2023: G19 Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, China met with Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and presented a number of joint initiatives on the 2023 Policy Address, including accelerating the implementation of the new version of the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme with a proposed investment threshold of not less than HK$30 million.
★ 6 October 2023: Speaking at the Private Wealth Management Association Summit, Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the Hong Kong government is actively finalizing new details of the capital investor entry scheme, which is expected to channel a large amount of money into Hong Kong's capital markets.
This restart of the plan is undoubtedly a major favorable policy for entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals who plan to immigrate to Hong Kong!
As the world window of China and even Asia, Hong Kong needs more enterprises, talents and high-net-worth individuals to drive Hong Kong's economic development. The improvement of Hong Kong's welfare and education system, very friendly corporate tax and individual tax, and various policies that are at the forefront of the curve are very attractive for high-net-worth individuals.
Compared with other talent introduction programs, Hong Kong investment immigration does not require applicants to stay/work in Hong Kong, as long as the applicant uses "banknote ability", continuous investment in Hong Kong, renewal of permanent residence is no problem!
Hong Kong investment immigration has two major advantages
★ High batch rate, no renewal
The approval rate of Hong Kong investment immigration is more than 80%, as long as the funds are compliant and the background is fine, the approval is a sure thing. Other visas such as talent, high talent, and professional need to be renewed once in 2-3 years, but once the investment immigration visa is approved, it is seven years, so there will be no worries about renewal.
★ Unconditional stay, flexible and flexible
After the expiration of the seven-year period, you can apply for permanent residence in Hong Kong and exchange it for a blue passport. However, if the investor has a business in the Mainland and is worried that he will face a lot of inconvenience after changing his identity, he can apply to the Immigration Department for an "unconditional stay label" to be affixed to his Mainland passport. In this way, it can not only retain its mainland identity legally and compliantly, but also enjoy most of Hong Kong's benefits, so as to "move in and out freely".
It is worth noting that this is because the investment immigration scheme is not directly aimed at mainland residents with household registration. If a mainland wants to apply for Hong Kong investment immigration, he can apply for the scheme by obtaining foreign permanent resident status.
Like the Saint Lucia passport and Turkish passport with a relatively low threshold, which can get a foreign green card in one step, such a cost-effective Commonwealth passport program can not only be used to apply for Hong Kong investment immigration, but also plays a major role in travel, tax planning and asset allocation. (For related reading, please poke → the Commonwealth passport is so bullish?!) ）
In addition, in addition to the official announcement of the resumption of Hong Kong's investment immigration, Hong Kong has also introduced a number of measures to "grab and retain talents" in terms of talent introduction policies:
The "Grab and Retain Talents" policy also includes the following measures:
★ Expand the list of universities under the High-end Talent Pass Scheme
As we all know, the Hong Kong High-end Talent Pass Scheme Type B and C applications require applicants to graduate from the world's top 100 universities. In the new Policy Address, the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee Ka-chiu, announced the expansion of the talent network to attract talents from around the world, and from November onwards, the list of eligible universities will increase by 8 top Mainland and overseas institutions to 184! The specific list of 8 new universities, Xiaozhou will continue to follow up and share with you as soon as possible!
★ Establishment of the Manpower Services Office
Following the launch of the "Manpower Services Window" online platform last year, the physical "Manpower Services Office" will be officially established at the end of this month to provide support to talents arriving in Hong Kong and follow up on their post-immigration development and needs. Next year, the Global Talent Summit Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Talent High-quality Development Conference will also be held to promote regional talent exchange and cooperation.
★ Vocational Graduates Retention Scheme
To alleviate the manpower shortage in Hong Kong's technology industry, non-resident students enrolled in designated full-time Higher Diploma programmes admitted by the Vocational Training Council (VTC) from the 2024/25 academic year onwards can stay in Hong Kong for one year after graduation to seek jobs related to their majors, and this arrangement will be reviewed on a trial basis for two years.
★ Relaxation of visas
The visa policy for Vietnamese talents to enter Hong Kong for employment will be opened from now on, and the application threshold for Vietnamese people to enter Hong Kong for business and tourism will be relaxed; To allow Lao and Nepalese talents to come to Hong Kong for employment, training and study in UGC-funded institutions.
Judging from the above major positive measures, Hong Kong will continue to vigorously welcome talents from all over the world to come to Hong Kong in the new year, so now is a good time to take Hong Kong's identity! Investors who are interested in Hong Kong projects can contact Xiaozhou in the background~