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New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES)
Unleash the Boundless Potential of Hong Kong through the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme!
Explore the vibrant tapestry of Hong Kong, the acclaimed Asia’s World City, where 24-hour trading interacts with the globe’s most influential financial hubs. With its sophisticated financial infrastructure, thriving innovation and technology ecosystem and an unrivalled pool of talent, this energetic metropolis empowers investors to seize opportunities within the world’s fastest-growing region. Strategically situated at the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong is also an ideal bridge of the East and West with its unique cultural ties with the Mainland.
The New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (the Scheme) aims to attract asset owners to settle in the city and explore its diverse investment opportunities through wealth allocation and management. The New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme Office (“New CIES Office”) under Invest Hong Kong is responsible for assessing the financial assets and investment of the Scheme Applicants/Entrants as well as monitoring their continuous compliance of the Investment Requirements and Portfolio Maintenance Requirements, while Immigration Department is responsible for assessing applications for visa/entry permit, extension of stay and unconditional stay pursuant to the Scheme.
Eligibility Criteria
The New CIES seeks to further enrich the talent pool and attract more new capital to Hong Kong. This will strengthen the development of our asset and wealth management business, financial services and related professional services. Subject to the terms of the New Scheme Rules, an Applicant who satisfies the following criteria will be eligible for applying for admission into Hong Kong for residence under the New CIES:
1) Age – aged 18 or above at the time of applying for net asset assessment to Invest Hong Kong (hereafter “InvestHK”) ;
2) Scope of the Scheme –
(i) foreign nationals;
(ii) Chinese nationals who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country;
(iii) Macao Special Administrative Region residents; or
(iv) Chinese residents of Taiwan;
3) Net assets – applies for net asset assessment to InvestHK, i.e. demonstrating that he/she has net assets or net equity to which he/she is absolutely beneficially entitled with a market value of not less than HK$30 million Net (or equivalent in foreign currencies) throughout the two years preceding the date he/she lodged the application for net asset assessment;
4) Investment in permissible investment assets – makes investment of not less than HK$ 30 million Net (or equivalent in foreign currencies) in the permissible investment assets to which he/ she is absolutely beneficially entitled;
5) No adverse record – demonstrates that he/she has no adverse immigration record and meets normal immigration and security requirements; and
6) Others – demonstrates to the Director of Immigration that he/she is capable of supporting and accommodating himself/herself and his/her dependants, if any, on his/her own without relying on any return on the Permissible investment assets, employment, self-employment, office, business or public assistance in or carried on in Hong Kong as the case may be. In addition, the entry of dependants will be subject to any other policy applicable to such entry at the time.
Note:
Nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba, and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are to be excluded. The list of excluded countries/regions will be reviewed by the Security Bureau (“SB”)/Immigration Department (“ImmD”) from time to time. Stateless persons who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country with proven re-entry facilities will be eligible under the Scheme.
Entry of Dependants
Persons seeking admission or admitted under the New CIES may apply, under their sponsorship, to bring their spouse or the other party to a same-sex civil partnership, same-sex civil union, “same-sex marriage”, opposite-sex civil partnership or opposite-sex civil union outside Hong Kong with an eligible sponsor in accordance with the local law in force of the place of celebration and with such status being legally and officially recognised by the local authorities of the place of celebration and unmarried dependent children under the age of 18 to the HKSAR under the prevailing dependant policy. Persons admitted or applying for admission under the respective arrangements will be the sponsors of their accompanying dependants to the HKSAR. An application for admission of a dependant may be favourably considered if normal immigration requirements and the following criteria are met:
- there is reasonable proof of a genuine relationship between the dependant and the sponsor;
- there is no known record to the detriment of the dependant; and
- the sponsor is able to support the dependant’s living at a standard well above the subsistence level and provide him/her with suitable accommodation in the HKSAR.
This entry arrangement does not apply to:
- former Mainland Chinese residents residing in the Macao SAR who have obtained Macao identity cards for less than seven years, unless they have acquired residence in the Macao SAR through the One-way Permit Scheme; and
- nationals of Afghanistan and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The length of stay of such dependants will normally be linked to that of their sponsors. Any subsequent applications for extension of stay will be considered only when the applicant continues to meet the eligibility criteria for entry for residence as dependants (including that there is no change in circumstances which would have otherwise resulted in loss of sponsorship for the applicant, e.g. change in marriage relationship between the dependent spouse and the sponsor, or death of sponsor) and the sponsor remains a bona fide Hong Kong resident living in the HKSAR. These dependants are not prohibited from taking up employment or studies in the HKSAR under the existing policy.
Application Procedures
Before an applicant submits an entry application for visa/ permit under the New CIES to Immigration Department (“ImmD”), he/she is required to first approach InvestHK for verifying whether he/she has fulfilled the Net Asset Requirement. After InvestHK has verified and notified the applicant that he/she has fulfilled the Net Asset Requirement, InvestHK will issue a Certifying Proof for Fulfillment of Net Asset Requirement to the applicant. The applicant is then required to submit an entry application to ImmD within the validity period of the Certifying Proof for Fulfillment of Net Asset Requirement. If Approval-in-Principle is given after assessment from the immigration perspectives, ImmD will grant a visa/entry permit to the applicant for entering Hong Kong on visitor status for not more than 180 days for making the committed investment within the period.
Upon the applicant’s completion of the committed investment within the specified investment timeframe, an applicant is required to approach InvestHK for verifying whether he/she has fulfilled the Investment Requirements. Upon InvestHK’s verification that the applicant has fulfilled the Investment Requirements, InvestHK will issue a Certifying Proof for Fulfillment of Investment Requirements to the applicant. The applicant is required to provide the Certifying Proof for Fulfillment of Investment Requirements within its validity period to ImmD, which will in turn resume making assessment on the applicant’s entry application. Upon formal approval, permission to stay will normally be granted to the applicant and his/her dependants (if any) for not more than 24 months on time limitation only, subject to the condition that the applicant continues to satisfy the requirements of the Scheme throughout this period.
Under the New CIES, InvestHK is responsible for the assessment of the applicant’s fulfillment for Net Asset Requirement, Investment Requirements and Portfolio Maintenance Requirements in compliance with the New Scheme Rules.
Conditions of Stay
Upon formal approval, the applicant and his/her dependants (if any) will normally be granted permission to stay in Hong Kong for not more than 24 months on time limitation only.
The entrant and his/her dependants (if any) admitted under the New CIES is required to leave Hong Kong on the expiry of the limit of stay granted by ImmD or within two months after the Director of Immigration has determined that the entrant/the sponsor has breached the undertaking, whichever is earlier.
Subject to the condition that the entrant continuously meeting portfolio maintenance requirements stated under the New Scheme Rules and meeting the normal immigration requirements, upon approval, extension of stay will normally be granted for not more than three years. Further applications for extension of stay for not more than three years should follow the same application procedures.
Right of Abode
Persons admitted under New CIES who have ordinarily resided in the HKSAR for a continuous period of not less than seven years may apply for the right of abode in the HKSAR in accordance with the law.