Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (hereafter “QMAS”) seeks to attract highly skilled or talented persons to settle in Hong Kong in order to enhance Hong Kong’s economic competitiveness. Applicants under the QMAS are required to fulfil a set of prerequisites before they can be further assessed via one of the two assessment routes under the QMAS, namely the General Points Test and the Achievement-based Points Test. Each applicant may only submit one application and be assessed under one assessment route at a time.
Persons applying for a visa/entry permit under the QMAS to settle in Hong Kong must meet all of the following prerequisites before they can be further assessed under one of the two assessment routes, namely the General Points Test and the Achievement-based Points Test, under the QMAS:
- Age: The applicant must be aged 18 or above when submitting an application under the QMAS.
- Financial Requirement: The applicant must be able to demonstrate that he/she is capable of supporting and accommodating himself/herself and his/her dependant(s), if any, on his/her own financial resources without relying on public assistance during his/her stay in Hong Kong.
- Good Character: The applicant must not have any criminal record or adverse immigration record in Hong Kong or elsewhere.
- Basic Academic Qualifications: The applicant must have a good educational background, normally a first degree from a recognised university or tertiary education institution. Under special circumstances, good technical qualifications, proven professional abilities, and/or experience and achievements supported by documentary evidence may be considered.
For details of the two assessment routes, please refer to Q2.
Applicants who have met all the prerequisites may choose to be assessed under one of the two assessment routes under the QMAS:
- General Points Test: This assessment route consists of 12 assessment criteria under six aspects, including age, academic qualifications, language proficiency, work experience, annual income, and business ownership. Only applicants meeting the passing threshold can submit their applications. For the prevailing passing threshold, please refer to Q7.
- Achievement-based Points Test: This assessment route is for individuals with exceptional talents or skills who have received an award of exceptional achievement or can show that their work has been acknowledged by their peers or has contributed significantly to the development of their field. Requirements under this assessment route are very high.
Please click here to submit an online application and upload the supporting documents.
You will be notified of your application result by email. However, if the email address is invalid/incorrect or your email server (e.g. spam filter) blocks or deletes the notification, it will result in failure in delivery of the notification by electronic means. If necessary, please call the Technical Support Hotline at (852) 3128 8668.
The General Points Test consists of 12 assessment criteria under six aspects:
| Aspects |
Assessment Criteria |
(A)
Age |
(1) Whether the applicant is aged 50 or below |
(B)
Academic Qualifications |
(2) Whether the applicant has a master’s or doctoral degree awarded by an eligible university Note 1 |
| (3) Whether the applicant’s master’s or doctoral degree awarded by an eligible university Note 1 is pertinent to “STEM”, i.e. science, technology, engineering or mathematics Note 2 |
(C)
Language Proficiency |
(4) Whether the applicant is proficient in two languages, both written and spoken |
| (5) Whether the applicant is proficient in written and spoken English |
(D)
Work Experience |
(6) Whether the applicant has no less than five years’ graduate or specialist level work experience |
| (7) Whether the applicant has no less than three years’ graduate or specialist level work experience in multi-national companies (MNCs) or reputable enterprises, such as listed companies or companies on the lists of The Global 2000 by Forbes, the Fortune Global 500 and the Hurun China 500 |
| (8) Whether the applicant has no less than three years’ graduate or specialist level work experience in one of the specific fields/industries, including “innovation and technology”, “finance” and “international trade” (including cross-boundary marine and aviation transportation, and supply chain management) |
| (9) Whether the applicant has no less than two years’ graduate or specialist level work experience with international exposure Note 3 |
(E)
Annual Income |
(10) Whether the applicant has an annual income reaching HK$1 million or above, or its equivalent in foreign currency, in the year immediately preceding the date of application |
(F)
Business Ownership |
(11) Whether the applicant currently owns a business entity with an annual profit reaching HK$5 million or above, or its equivalent in foreign currency, in the year immediately preceding the date of application Note 4 |
| (12) Whether the applicant currently owns a listed company Note 4 |
Note 1:
The eligible universities refer to those universities/institutions on the aggregate list of eligible universities (the aggregate list), which is compiled by the Labour and Welfare Bureau for the QMAS. The aggregate list is based on: (a) the eligible universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme; and (b) the top 10 universities/institutions in the QS Global MBA Rankings and the Financial Times Business School Rankings in MBA providing only postgraduate programmes in the past five years. For the avoidance of doubt, academic qualifications awarded by the continuing and professional education arms, the branch schools, the extension schools or the subsidiary schools, etc., established by the eligible universities will not be accepted. For the latest aggregate list, please click here.
The level of academic qualifications of applicants obtained from the eligible universities must be equivalent to the recognised Hong Kong standard of master’s or doctoral degrees. For the avoidance of doubt, any honourary master’s/honourary doctoral degrees or degrees not awarded by nationally accredited/licensed institutions will not be accepted.
Note 2:
For the reference list of STEM subjects, please click here. The list is for reference only. Academic qualifications in a subject not included in the reference list may also be considered subject to the supporting document(s) furnished by the applicant.
Note 3:
In respect of the assessment criterion about work experience with international exposure, it refers to graduate or specialist level work experience outside the applicant’s home country/territory.
Note 4:
A business entity refers to a legally recognised company/corporation over which the applicant has the right to exercise legal and financial control. Ownership status can generally be established in the following ways: (a) the applicant holds 50% or more of the ownership interests in a non-listed company to which he/she is absolutely beneficially entitled, thereby having a controlling stake and influence over the business; or (b) the applicant holds a significant percentage of a listed company’s shares, normally 10% or more of the ownership interests to which he/she is absolutely beneficially entitled, demonstrating the applicant’s substantial level of ownership, control and influence over the company’s strategic directions, operational decisions and overall governance.
A passing threshold is set under the General Points Test. Only applicants meeting the passing threshold could submit their applications via the online application system. Interested applicants are advised to assess whether their credentials are adequate to meet the passing threshold before submitting an application. The passing threshold is subject to change from time to time without prior notice. The prevailing passing threshold is 6 out of 12.
The level of academic qualifications of applicants obtained from the eligible universities must be equivalent to the recognised Hong Kong standard of master’s or doctoral degrees. For the avoidance of doubt, any honourary master’s/honourary doctoral degrees or degrees not awarded by nationally accredited/licensed institutions will not be accepted.
The eligible universities refer to those universities/institutions on the aggregate list of eligible universities (the aggregate list), which is compiled by the Labour and Welfare Bureau for the QMAS. The aggregate list is based on: (a) the eligible universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme; and (b) the top 10 universities/institutions in the QS Global MBA Rankings and the Financial Times Business School Rankings in MBA providing only postgraduate programmes in the past five years. For the avoidance of doubt, academic qualifications awarded by the continuing and professional education arms, the branch schools, the extension schools or the subsidiary schools, etc., established by the eligible universities will not be accepted. For the latest aggregate list, please click here.
Please click here for the reference list of “STEM” subjects. Please note that the list is for reference only. The academic qualification of a subject not included in this list may also be considered subject to the supporting document furnished by the applicant.
No. To meet the criteria under the “Academic Qualifications” aspect, you must have a master’s or doctoral degree from one of the "eligible universities”.
For joint programmes, the applicant is considered meeting the criteria under the “Academic Qualifications” aspect provided that all the relevant awarding institutions/universities are among the “eligible universities” of QMAS.
No. The applicant is not considered meeting the criteria under the “Academic Qualifications” aspect if the applicant is unable to provide the proof of graduation.
Applicants are required to submit verification proof issued by a third-party credential verification organisation or the awarding institution regarding their academic qualifications, and to provide necessary information for the Immigration Department to conduct online authentication on respective platforms. Applicants may click here to view the “List of Third-party Credential Verification Organisations”.
Whether an applicant’s work experience is regarded as being in a specific field/industry primarily depends on the nature of the applicant’s role, position or designation, rather than solely on the industry classification of his/her employing company. Conversely, for those who hold positions with broader operational responsibilities, such as “Chief Executive Officer”, “General Manager” or “President”, etc., the nature of the company’s business would be taken into consideration.
In respect of the assessment criterion about work experience with international exposure, it refers to graduate or specialist level work experience outside the applicant’s home country/territory.
Applicant may submit notice of salaries tax assessment of the previous assessment year issued by a local competent authority (e.g. taxation office or revenue department, etc.), documentary proof issued by the applicant’s employing company specifying the value of the stock options granted to the applicant, documentary proof of financial standing of the applicant’s self-owned companies (e.g. the latest audited financial report, trading profit and loss account, or profit tax return, etc.) (if applicable).
In addition to Hong Kong dollar, there are 17 other major currencies available in the online application service for applicants to choose from, including the Chinese Renminbi, U.S. Dollar, Sterling, Japanese Yen, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar, Singapore Dollar, New Taiwan Dollar, Swiss Franc, Korean Won, Thai Baht, Malaysian Ringgit, Euro, Philippine Peso, Indian Rupee, Indonesian Rupiah and South African Rand. After the applicant selects the currency, the computer system will automatically convert the applicant's income into Hong Kong dollars.
If the applicant's income is not denominated in Hong Kong dollars or one of the 17 foreign currencies mentioned above, he/she may convert his/her income into Hong Kong dollars or one of the 17 foreign currencies when submitting the online application, and then upload the relevant supporting documents to the Immigration Department for assessment.
Ownership status can generally be established in the following ways:
- the applicant holds 50% or more of the ownership interests in a non-listed company to which he/she is absolutely beneficially entitled, thereby having a controlling stake and influence over the business; or
- the applicant holds a significant percentage of a listed company’s shares, normally 10% or more of the ownership interests to which he/she is absolutely beneficially entitled, demonstrating the applicant’s substantial level of ownership, control and influence over the company’s strategic directions, operational decisions and overall governance.
Requirements under this assessment route are very high. Those who are considered to have met one of the assessment criteria under this assessment route listed below will pass the assessment route and be selected for further assessment by the Assessment Panel.
- the applicant has received an award of exceptional achievement (e.g. Olympic medal, Nobel prize, national/international award); or
- the applicant can show that his/her work has been acknowledged by his/her peers or has contributed significantly to the development of his/her field (e.g. lifetime achievement award from industry).
Those who could not meet any of the criteria will fail the assessment route, and their applications will be refused immediately.
No. Persons admitted through the General Points Test under the QMAS will normally be granted an initial stay of 36 months on time limitation only without other conditions of stay upon entry. Persons admitted through the Achievement-based Points Test under the QMAS will normally be granted a stay of eight years on time limitation only without other conditions of stay upon entry.
Persons admitted under the QMAS are free to take up and change employment during their permitted stay without the need to seek prior approval from the Immigration Department.
Non-permanent residents of the HKSAR (including persons admitted under the QMAS and their dependants), irrespective of their nationality and type of travel document held, do not require a re-entry visa/entry permit to enter the HKSAR provided that they return within the currency of their permitted limit of stay and that the circumstances upon which they have acquired their residential status remain unchanged. Please click here for details.
If you have been admitted under the QMAS, you may apply to bring your spouse or the other party to a same-sex civil partnership, same-sex civil union, “same-sex marriage”, opposite-sex civil partnership or opposite-sex civil union entered into by you in accordance with the local law in force of the place of celebration and with such status being legally and officially recognised by the local authorities of the place of celebrationNote 5, and your unmarried dependent children under the age of 18 as dependants. You must demonstrate that your personal net worth is sufficient to support and accommodate yourself and your dependant(s), if any, throughout your initial 12-month stay in Hong Kong.
Note 5:
For the avoidance of doubt, the terms “civil partnership” and “civil union” above mean a legal institution of a nature which is akin to spousal relationship in a marriage. The same-sex civil partnership, same-sex civil union, “same-sex marriage”, opposite-sex civil partnership and opposite-sex civil union entered into in accordance with laws outside Hong Kong are limited to only relationships which are legally and officially recognised in the places of celebration. Such relationships normally have the following features: (a) the entering into and dissolution of the relationship are governed by legislation of the place where it is entered into; (b) the relationship requires registration by the competent authority specified by the legislation of the place where it is entered into; (c) the registration is evidenced in a written instrument issued by the competent authority; and (d) parties to the relationship have a mutual commitment to a shared life akin to spouses to the exclusion of others on a permanent basis. Such relationships do not include de facto spouse, partners in cohabitation, fiancé/fiancée, etc.
No. If you wish to apply for the QMAS, you can submit your application for yourself and your accompanying dependants together through the online application service.
Yes. For details, please refer to the “Guidebook for Entry for Residence as Dependants in Hong Kong” [ID(C) 998 (Chinese version) or ID(E) 998 (English version)] or click here.
Under the prevailing policy, the aforementioned persons are allowed to take up employment or study if they are permitted to reside in Hong Kong as dependant under the QMAS.
Persons and their dependants admitted under the QMAS are subject to a limit of stay during their stay in Hong Kong until they acquire permanent resident status under Hong Kong laws. They are required to apply for extension of stay within four weeks before their limit of stay expires if they intend to continue their residence in the HKSAR.
Persons admitted through the General Points Test under the QMAS are required to provide proofs demonstrating to the satisfaction of the Immigration Department that they have taken steps to settle in Hong Kong by taking up residence here, e.g. by securing gainful employment or establishing a business, to obtain an extension of stay at the end of the 36-month period. Extensions of stay, if approved, will normally follow the pattern of “3+2” years on time limitation only without other conditions of stay.
Persons admitted through the Achievement-based Points Test under the QMAS shall demonstrate that they are capable of supporting and accommodating themselves and their dependants, if any, on their own financial resources during their stay in Hong Kong, should an extension of stay be required.
For the supporting documents required for application of extension of stay , please refer to the “Quality Migrant Admission Scheme Guidance Notes”.
Yes. For persons admitted under the QMAS, notwithstanding the expiry of the 3-year limit of stay has not been approaching, they may still apply for assessment under the top-tier employment stream if the above quoted criteria are met. They will normally be granted an extension of stay on time limitation only without other conditions of stay for a period of five years upon approval. The newly extended five years of limit of stay will be counted from the original limit of stay previously granted.
