The unique advantages and opportunities brought by Hong Kong identity

Mr. Liu Kaixuan, Director of the Investment Promotion Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, revealed during his participation in the “Hong Kong High-level Talent Recruitment Exhibition 2024” on March 3 that the newly launched “New Capital Investor Immigration Scheme” (i.e., investment immigration) has received widespread attention and enthusiastic response. Shortly after the details of the scheme were announced on the morning of March 1, over 100 inquiries were received, and multiple applications were submitted on the same day! This indicates a rapid increase in demand for Hong Kong identity, with applicants’ main motivations including:

  1. Wealthy families hoping to preserve their assets;
  2. Parents without Hong Kong residency hoping their children can receive a high-quality education in Hong Kong;
  3. Entrepreneurs looking to have more children;
  4. Parents desiring Hong Kong permanent residency for their children.

The allure of Hong Kong identity

Every year, outstanding talents from around the world obtain Hong Kong identity through Hong Kong’s talent admission scheme. It is believed that with Hong Kong gradually relaxing its policies, the number of applicants in the future will significantly increase. It is worth noting that before 2015, Hong Kong’s investment immigration scheme required applicants to invest HK$10 million. However, the newly launched scheme does not require applicants to invest and has a faster processing speed. More importantly, the current Hong Kong Talent Admission Scheme has removed the annual quota limit, undoubtedly opening a door to a new life for many.

The educational advantages of Hong Kong identity

In recent years, Hong Kong’s postgraduate study programs have been continuously popular, with the number of applicants steadily increasing. Competition among the five top universities in Hong Kong—The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, City University of Hong Kong, and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University—has become increasingly fierce.

Why is this so? Because once a person obtains Hong Kong identity, the individual and the whole family benefit. For example, children with Hong Kong identity can enjoy Hong Kong’s education system, avoiding the pressure of the mainland’s college entrance examination, and easily gain admission to prestigious schools by taking the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (DSE) or the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) exam. Hong Kong, as a globally renowned international financial center, is home to many well-known multinational companies, providing abundant job opportunities for job seekers. Additionally, Hong Kong’s tax system is relatively favorable, with provisions such as the “Arrangement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation,” which allows mainland residents working in Hong Kong and meeting certain conditions to exempt their Hong Kong salaries from salary tax.

Various educational paths for Hong Kong identity holders

Children with Hong Kong identity have multiple choices when it comes to education, but there are still some differences between Hong Kong resident identity and Hong Kong permanent resident identity in terms of educational paths:

  1. Hong Kong resident identity: Children can still participate in the mainland’s college entrance examination and choose universities based on their grades. Having Hong Kong identity does not conflict with having a mainland household registration (hukou).
  2. Hong Kong resident identity, taking the DSE exam to apply to the Big Eight in Hong Kong: Children who obtain Hong Kong identity before the age of 18 are considered local residents and can take the DSE exam, apply through JUPAS to the eight major universities in Hong Kong. 80% of the admission quotas for the Big Eight universities are reserved for local students, with tuition fees 4-5 times lower than for non-local students. It is much simpler to enter prestigious universities using DSE results, with an admission rate of around 40%. Five of the Big Eight universities are ranked among the top 100 in the world, indicating a significant advantage.
  3. Hong Kong permanent resident identity with a Home Visit Permit (回乡证), taking the DSE exam to apply to mainland schools: Children with Hong Kong resident identity can use their DSE results to apply to mainland schools. If this path is chosen, planning to obtain Hong Kong identity before the child is 10 years old or earlier is necessary. Additionally, many schools have principal recommendation programs, with students holding Hong Kong identity being admitted to top mainland schools every year.
  4. Hong Kong permanent resident identity with a Home Visit Permit, taking the JUPAS exam for overseas Chinese students: The JUPAS exam results are recognized by over 300 mainland universities, including prestigious institutions like Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Fudan University. The JUPAS exam does not include politics in the arts stream and biology in the science stream, and the difficulty level of the questions is relatively simple, with lower admission score requirements, making it easier to get into top universities with lower scores.

Other advantages of Hong Kong identity

  1. Personal income tax subsidies in the Greater Bay Area: High-end talents and scarce talents working in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area receive financial subsidies from the governments of the nine cities in the Pearl River Delta for the portion of personal income tax exceeding 15%, and are exempt from personal income tax. (The nine cities in the Pearl River Delta include Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, and Zhaoqing.)
  2. Cost-effective medical services: Medical expenses in Hong Kong are relatively low, with emergency visits costing 180 Hong Kong dollars each time, general outpatient visits costing 50 Hong Kong dollars, and hospitalization costs being very reasonable. Specialty outpatient fees are low, the medical system is comprehensive, and it provides residents with reliable medical services.
  3. Convenient travel: Holding a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport allows visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 171 countries and regions, greatly facilitating international travel.
  4. Convenient home purchases in the Greater Bay Area: The Hong Kong government has introduced the “16 Measures for Hong Kong,” allowing Hong Kong residents to freely purchase a self-use property in the nine cities of the Greater Bay Area without the need for proof of work or study, simplifying the property purchase process.
  5. Low tax burden: Hong Kong’s highest salary tax rate is 15%, with an annual tax-free allowance of 132,000 Hong Kong dollars. This means that over half of Hong Kong’s working population does not need to pay salary tax, and 20% of people pay less than 1,000 Hong Kong dollars in taxes per year.

Seize the golden opportunity

In the Hong Kong Policy Address in October 2022, it was announced that from January 1, 2023, Hong Kong would lift the annual quota limit for the Talent Admission Scheme, a policy that will remain in effect until December 31, 2024. This means that 2024 will be the final year to benefit from this policy. Hong Kong is currently relaxing its talent admission policies, making the application conditions relatively lenient, marking a golden opportunity to obtain Hong Kong identity. Seizing this rare opportunity can create more possibilities for oneself and one’s family.

Key to applying for Hong Kong identity

All policy benefits and opportunities have expiration dates, and application policies are constantly changing. Seizing the moment is crucial because you might meet the requirements one second, but policy changes the next second could disqualify you from applying. Therefore, taking immediate action and contacting us to gain an advantage for your future is essential!