Congratulations to our client, Ms. W, on the approval of her application under the “Highly Talented Persons Passport Scheme”!

Basic Information

Applicant: Ms. W

Age: 40+

Occupation: Shareholder

Application Process

Initial application submission: August 26, 2024

Received Approval Letter: October 05, 2024

Application Process

The Highly Talented Persons Scheme is open to three categories of high-end talents: Category A must have an annual income of HK$2.5 million or above; Category B must hold a bachelor's degree from a top 100 university in the world and have at least 3 years of working experience in the 5 years prior to the date of application; and Category C is for those who have obtained a degree from a top 100 university in the past 5 years but have less than 3 years of working experience.

Ms. W is a shareholder of a company with an annual income of over HK$2.5 million, which meets the criteria for application under Category A of the Highly Talented Persons Program.

Afterwards, the Nebula Hai International copywriting team, with rich experience and professional ability, prepared detailed application materials for Ms. W and submitted them to the Hong Kong Immigration Department.

More than a month after the submission, Ms. W and her children were successfully approved without any additional documents, making the approval process very efficient.

Mainland applicants account for 95% of the total number of approved applicants

The Scheme has been implemented for nearly two years, and the Hong Kong Government has made it clear that it will continue to be implemented and may be improved, and it is expected that the Policy Address to be released soon will introduce these improvement measures in detail.

Some legislators expect that the Highly Selective Placement Scheme may be further relaxed, for example, the list of universities may be extended to include non-Top 100 universities and their strengths in terms of academic disciplines; some legislators also emphasize that emphasis should be placed on attracting leaders in various industries.

As at the end of August this year, the Scheme has received about 97,000 applications and approved about 78,000, of which 63,000 applicants and more than 70,000 dependants have successfully traveled to Hong Kong, with each senior talent bringing along at least one family member on average.

According to the Immigration Department, Mainlanders account for about 95% of the successful applicants, and their average age is 35.

Why is the Scheme so popular?

Mainlanders are keen to apply for the Highly Talented Persons Scheme not only because of its relatively low threshold and efficient approval process, but also because they wish to settle in Hong Kong through this route, so as to gain access to broader development opportunities and quality education resources.

In terms of personal and professional development, the income level in Hong Kong is generally higher than that in the Mainland. The median monthly salary of talents who come to Hong Kong through the Highly Talented Persons Scheme is as high as HK$50,000, with 25% of them earning HK$100,000 or more a month.

In addition, Hong Kong has a simple and transparent tax system with low tax rates, including profits tax (corporate income tax), salaries tax (personal income tax) and property tax.

❶ Salaries tax rate is capped at 17%;

❷ The profits tax rate for corporations is only 8.25% for the first HK$2 million and 16.5% for the excess;

❸ Property tax rate of 15%, but companies are not required to pay property tax if they have already paid income tax on their rental income.

❹ Exemption from value-added tax, sales tax, capital gains tax, withholding tax on dividends or interest, and estate duty.

In terms of children's education, having Hong Kong status means that children can enjoy the same quality education resources as local students in Hong Kong and have diversified channels for further studies:

❶ Primary and secondary education, enjoying 15 years of free and compulsory education in Hong Kong (3 years for kindergarten + 6 years for elementary school + 3 years for junior high school + 3 years for senior high school), and students only need to pay school fees and miscellaneous fees every year to study in public primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong.

❷ At the stage of higher education, children can enroll in the 985/211 and other double first-class prestigious schools in the Mainland with low scores through the Joint Entrance Examination for Overseas Chinese Students (JEE), or apply to local universities in Hong Kong + 138 universities in the Mainland + more than 300 universities overseas through the Hong Kong DSE Examination.

If you are interested in applying for the Hong Kong High Achiever Program or would like to know more details, please feel free to contact Nebula Hai International.