{"id":3483,"date":"2022-10-21T09:41:31","date_gmt":"2022-10-21T01:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/?p=3483"},"modified":"2022-10-24T10:23:38","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T02:23:38","slug":"hong-kong-policy-address-new-visa-to-attract-talent-and-firms-amid-brain-drain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/hong-kong-policy-address-new-visa-to-attract-talent-and-firms-amid-brain-drain\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong Policy Address: new visa to attract talent and firms amid brain drain"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you attend a gathering of friends these days, chances are in the middle of it, a friend will announce they are leaving their hometown soon, or somebody is not showing up because they already left some months ago. Or, the gathering is precisely a farewell dinner for someone who is leaving in a few days. It is obvious Hong Kong should introduce a new visa to attract talents to offset the impact of this exodus.<\/p>\n

Over the past two years, the local workforce shrank by about 140,000 – many of those who left were young, highly educated professionals (like teachers and finance-sector employees) earning decent salaries. In this Pacific Prime Hong Kong<\/a> article, we\u2019ll look at a new visa scheme the HKSAR Government plans to roll out to alleviate the pressure this brain drain has put on the local economy, and how this new scheme compares to a similar scheme from Singapore.<\/p>\n

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\"General<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\n

The new Top Talent Pass Scheme<\/h2>\n

To qualify for a visa under this new scheme, you will have to make at least HKD $2.5 million (roughly USD $320,000) a year, or have graduated from one of the world\u2019s top 100 universities with at least 3 years of work experience. However, there\u2019s no word yet on which rankings list the new scheme will be based on. This new visa will be valid for 2 years, and you do not have to have a job lined up before you arrive in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

If you do not satisfy the work experience part of the requirements, there is still hope for you, provided you graduated from one of the top 100 universities within the past 5 years. However, the number of visas issued per year under this route is capped at 10,000.<\/p>\n

How this new visa stacks up against the new Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass (ONE Pass) from Singapore<\/h2>\n

Since everything from Hong Kong must be compared to its counterpart from Singapore these days, maybe we should have a head-to-head between these two new visa schemes too.<\/p>\n

1. Eligibility requirements:<\/h3>\n

The new visa from Hong Kong has a higher income threshold than its Singapore counterpart, requiring you to make at least SGD $30,000 (roughly USD $21,400) per month. However, if you come up short in your present earning power, you may still qualify for the new Hong Kong visa provided you graduated from a top-100 university and have 3 years of work experience, or graduated from a top-100 university within the past 5 years. Admittedly that\u2019s quite a bit easier than the corresponding requirement of the new Singapore visa, which expects you to be a near Nobel laureate or Olympic medalist unless you meet their salary requirement.<\/p>\n

2. Validity period:<\/h3>\n

A visa issued under the ONE Pass scheme is valid for 5 years – that\u2019s more than twice as long as the new visa from Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

3. Path to permanent residency and citizenship:<\/h3>\n

Under current legislation, you must have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of 7 years before you can apply to become a permanent resident of Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

In Singapore, you can apply to become a permanent resident having settled down for only 6 months. After you have been a permanent resident in Singapore for 2 years, you may apply for citizenship. Naturally, since Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China, there is no such thing as a Hong Kong citizenship.<\/p>\n

In other words, it will take you far less time to become a Singapore citizen than a Hong Kong permanent resident.<\/p>\n

Further reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n