Hong Kong: new talent flocks in via the Top Talent Pass

The Top Talent Pass Scheme is administered by the Hong Kong Immigration Department. What sets it apart from conventional work visas is that it does not require a prior job offer: it is based on the applicant's own profile — their income or their degree — and it is then up to them to find work locally.

This reversal explains its appeal among finance professionals: it lets them settle first and negotiate afterwards, instead of depending on an employer for their residence permit.

The scheme distinguishes three categories, which do not overlap.

• Category A: people whose annual income reached from HK$2,500,000¹, or the equivalent in foreign currency, in the year immediately preceding the application;
• category B: graduates of eligible universities with at least from 3 years² of work experience in the previous five years;
• category C: recent graduates of the same universities, who graduated within the last five years and have less than three years of experience — this route being subject to an annual quota, allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Category C is the only one subject to a quota. For a recent graduate, the filing date therefore matters as much as the application itself.

The initial length of stay differs depending on the route taken: it is 36 months³ for category A, and 24 months⁴ for categories B and C.

The stay is granted subject only to a limit of stay, with no other condition attached — which means the holder is not tied to a specific employer during this period.

An extension, however, requires proof of employment or business activity: it is then normally granted for a period not exceeding three years, or until the end of the employment contract if that comes sooner. A longer extension arrangement exists for holders who can show a high level of income after a first period.

A residence permit is not a tax regime. Hong Kong applies a territorial principle: what is taxed is what is sourced in the territory. This rule is often presented as a general exemption of foreign income; it is not one, and how it applies depends on the nature and source of each item of income.

For a taxpayer coming from France, the preliminary question remains open: the departure must be genuine under the French domicile criteria and the applicable tax treaty. A Top Talent Pass constitutes neither.

1. Identify the category before putting the application together: the documents required differ, and the quota concerns only one route;
2. for categories B and C, check that the institution is indeed on the list of eligible universities, which is exhaustive;
3. plan for the extension from arrival: that is when employment or activity will have to be proven, even though entry did not require it;
4. treat taxation as a separate matter, source by source, and not as an automatic consequence of settling there.

The size of the annual quota for category C and how much of it has been used do not appear on the page consulted on 26 September 2026: we do not put a figure on them. For an applicant concerned, this is nevertheless the decisive information, and it must be checked directly with the Immigration Department.

The list of eligible universities is not reproduced here: it is revised periodically, and a copied list would age badly.

Finally, the conditions for access to permanent residency at the end of successive extensions are governed by rules separate from those of the programme itself. They do not follow automatically from the time spent there.