14 January 2015
The Government announced today (January 14) that the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES) will be suspended with effect from tomorrow (January 15) (the suspension date) until further notice.
A government spokesman said, "The CIES was implemented in 2003, when Hong Kong's economy was in recession, to attract new capital to stimulate economic growth. In view of the latest economic situation in Hong Kong, attracting capital investment entrants should no longer be our priority. Instead, our focus should be on attracting talent, professionals and innovative entrepreneurs to contribute to our economy. The Government has therefore decided to suspend the CIES until further notice. This will also help the Immigration Department in clearing the over 12 000 CIES applications under processing.
The spokesman added, "The suspension of the CIES will not affect applications received by the Immigration Department before the suspension date, whether already approved (including approval-in-principle and formal approval) or still being processed."
According to the existing Rules for CIES, applications will be accepted if they involve the investment of no less than HK$10 million in permissible investment assets and such applications are made within six months of the investment. In line with the above and as a transitional arrangement, applications will be accepted after the suspension date if they involve the investment of no less than HK$10 million made within the six months immediately before the suspension date and such applications are made within six months of the investment, subject to the applicant meeting the other eligibility criteria under CIES.
Details of the suspension and transitional arrangement are available on the Immigration Department website, www.immd.gov.hk. For enquiries, please call the Immigration Department enquiry hotline at 2824 6111.