On November 1, the Hong Kong Government announced an important adjustment to the QMAS - with immediate effect, the “Integrated Points Scoring System” will be optimized, replacing the original item-by-item scoring method with an assessment questionnaire, and there will be no annual quota.

So, what changes will come to the QMAS under the new adjustment? Let us explain them one by one.

01

Abolish the marking system

Replaced by an assessment system

As we all know, the Hong Kong Meritocracy Scheme (HKMS) originally adopts a points-based system, and its application is divided into two categories, namely the “General Points-based System” and the “Achievement-based Points-based System”. The total score of the scheme is 245 points, and applicants are eligible to submit an application as long as they have attained a composite score of 80 points.

Starting from November 1, 2024, the Hong Kong Immigration Department will change the “General Points System” to a questionnaire:

The questionnaire includes six categories, namely age, education, language proficiency, working experience, annual income and business ownership, with a total of 12 assessment criteria. Applicants who fulfill at least 6 of the assessment criteria are eligible to apply for the next round of selection.

In short, the new “General Points Test” is a yes-or-no question format, whereby applicants are required to answer “yes” to at least six out of a total of 12 questions in order to be eligible to apply.

After that, a selection committee set up within the government will be responsible for vetting and approving the applications, but the specific internal selection criteria will not be disclosed to the public.

Mr. Sun Yuk-han of the Labour and Welfare Bureau said that the original scoring system was too complicated, resulting in heavy workload for the Government and long waiting time for applicants. After the scoring system has been optimized, the authorities expect that the overall vetting and approval process can be shortened by three months.

Meanwhile, cases originally submitted will continue to be vetted using the old scoring system, but she encourages applicants who are waiting for the results to resubmit their applications to take advantage of the new system to speed up the vetting process.

02

Explanation of Assessment Criteria by Category

► Category 1: Age

① Applicants should be under 50 years old.

Note: Under the old policy, younger applicants were given extra points, but under the current rules, applicants under 50 years of age are eligible.

►The second category: education

② Whether the applicant holds a master's degree or a doctoral degree conferred by a qualified university;

(iii) Whether the applicant's master's or doctoral degree awarded by an eligible university is related to a “STEM” discipline, i.e. “Science”, “Technology”, “Engineering” or “Mathematics”.

Note: Eligible universities include the 198 recognized universities under the Highly Qualified Persons (HQP) Scheme, and universities/institutions specializing in postgraduate programmes that have been ranked among the top 10 in the QS Global MBA Rankings and the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings for the past five years.

Compared with the past, the new policy has raised the academic threshold and made the subject requirements more explicit, showing the Hong Kong government's preference for talents with science and technology background.

► Category III: Language Proficiency

④ Whether the applicant has good written and spoken skills in both languages;

⑤ Whether the applicant has a good command of written and spoken English.

Note: The new policy no longer requires that one must know Chinese, but adjusts it to whether one has a good command of two languages and good English; English proficiency can be proved in the following three ways: IELTS with a score of 7 or above, TOEFL with a score of at least 94, or English Level 6 with a score of 520 or above.

►The fourth category: work experience

⑥ Whether the applicant has no less than five years of work experience equivalent to degree level or expert level.

(7) Whether the applicant has at least three years of work experience equivalent to degree level or specialist level in a multinational company or a well-known enterprise, such as a listed company or an enterprise listed in Forbes Global 2000, Fortune Global 500 and Hurun China 500.

(8) Whether the applicant possesses not less than three years of working experience at degree or professional level in specific fields/industries, including “innovation and technology”, “finance” and “international trade” (including cross-boundary shipping and air freight, and supply chain management).

⑨ Whether the applicant possesses not less than two years' international work experience at degree or specialist level.

Note: The work experience involved in (6) to (9) is basically the same as before. The Hong Kong Government attaches greater importance to those with international working experience, team management skills and background in Fortune 500 companies, especially in the fields of technology, finance and international trade.

►Category 5: Annual Income

⑩ Whether the applicant's annual income for the year immediately preceding the application is HK$1 million or above (or its equivalent in foreign currency);

Note: This income includes salary, allowances, stock options and income from profits of companies in which the applicant's name holds 50% or more of the shares. However, it does not include income from personal investment, such as stock trading, real estate investment and fund income.

►Sixth category: Business ownership

⑪ Whether the applicant currently owns a business entity which, in the year immediately preceding the application, has made an annual profit of HK$5 million or more (or its equivalent in foreign currency);

⑫ Whether the applicant currently owns a listed company.

Note: A business entity means a legally recognized company/enterprise over which the applicant can exercise legal and financial control. That is, the applicant has an absolute beneficial ownership interest of 50% or more in an unlisted company; or the applicant holds a substantial percentage of shares in a listed company, which usually means an absolute beneficial ownership interest of ten percent or more.

These two requirements for business owners directly exclude non-business owners and small business owners.

03

Who is more suitable for the Premium Talent Program?

After in-depth analysis, we have summarized the typical profile of applicants under the Talents Program's Comprehensive Points Scoring System:

Executives of famous enterprises and overseas technical elites

Masters and PhD students from prestigious universities

Entrepreneurs or major shareholders with bachelor's degree or above

If you are one of them, your chances of approval are quite high.

It should be noted that the Hong Kong government has stated on its website that the selection criteria will be adjusted flexibly according to the needs of the society without prior notice. As it is difficult to predict the policy changes, it is recommended that qualified applicants submit their applications as soon as possible to avoid missing the opportunity.

If you are interested in applying for a Hong Kong identity, please feel free to contact Nebulae International and we will provide you with customized solutions.