After nearly a decade closed, Hong Kong reopened its doors to investment migrants with the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme: thirty million Hong Kong dollars into approved assets buys residency in the city where East manages West’s money. Demand has been fierce, the rules keep loosening in applicants’ favour, and the path leads to permanent residency after seven years. Here is the current picture.
Roughly 3.8 million US dollars across permissible assets and the official portfolio.
The shortened evidence window, with jointly owned assets countable.
Continuous ordinary residence opens permanent residency.
Hong Kong remains the hinge between global capital and mainland China: the deepest capital markets in Asia, common law courts conducting business in English, a currency pegged to the dollar and an airport that reaches half of humanity within five hours. The skyline is the CV.
Salaries tax caps in the mid teens, there is no capital gains tax, no VAT and no tax on dividends or offshore income. Housing is famously expensive and famously vertical, while everything else, from transport to dim sum, is world class at fair prices. International schools serve every curriculum, with queues that reward early planning.
The scheme suits investors who want an Asian base with real capital markets underneath it, families placing children in the region’s strongest schools, and portfolio holders happy to keep thirty million Hong Kong dollars working in approved assets. It rewards those who treat it as an investment allocation with residency attached, which is precisely what it is.
Our specialists coordinate the private banks, the compliant portfolio and the InvestHK filings as one engagement, so the family and the money arrive together.
The New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme grants residency to the applicant, spouse and dependent children in exchange for maintaining thirty million Hong Kong dollars in permissible investments. Stay is renewable while the portfolio is maintained, and after seven years of continuous ordinary residence the family may apply for permanent residency, the right of abode in Hong Kong. The scheme is administered by InvestHK and the Immigration Department, which publish the official rules.
Applicants must demonstrate net assets of at least thirty million Hong Kong dollars held throughout the qualifying period before application, a test that has been shortened to the preceding six months and now counts jointly owned assets proportionally. The investment itself splits two ways: at least twenty seven million into permissible assets, equities, bonds, funds and real estate capped at fifteen million in aggregate, of which residential is capped at ten million, plus three million into the CIES Investment Portfolio managed for the innovation economy.
The application runs on two tracks: InvestHK verifies the net asset test and the investment plan, while the Immigration Department handles the entry permission. Approval in principle allows entry to complete the investments; full residency follows confirmation that the portfolio is in place. Timelines vary; approval in principle is followed by 180 days to complete the investment, and dependants file alongside the principal.
Thirty million Hong Kong dollars total, roughly 3.8 million US dollars: twenty seven million in permissible assets with the real estate component capped at fifteen million in aggregate, and three million into the official portfolio. Net asset test: the six months before application, jointly owned assets countable. Horizon: renewable residency to permanent status at year seven. The scheme has drawn thousands of applications and tens of billions in committed capital since relaunch.
Structure the portfolio for the rules first and the returns second: the permissible list is broad enough for proper diversification once you know its edges. Time the net asset evidence window deliberately, since six months of clean statements beat two years of explanations. Use the property allowance strategically rather than emotionally, and plan the seven year residency calendar from day one if right of abode is the family goal. We coordinate private banks, fund managers and the filings as one engagement.
Residency opens the whole territory, and Hong Kong offers three very different lives within one skyline. We help families choose the base and the schools while the portfolio is being built.
The towers above the harbour hold the offices, the clubs and the apartments where the region does its business.
Assess MeRepulse Bay and Stanley trade the skyline for sea views and family space, ten minutes over the hill from Central.
Am I Eligible?Big skies, beaches and the Big Buddha: island living with the airport express next door.
Contact UsThe permissible asset list is broad enough for genuine diversification once you know its edges. We structure for the rules first and the returns immediately after.
Passports for all applicants with birth and marriage certificates for dependants, consistent across both the InvestHK and Immigration Department tracks.
Accountant verified evidence of at least thirty million Hong Kong dollars in net assets across the qualifying window, with jointly owned assets apportioned correctly.
The allocation across permissible assets, custody confirmations and the three million dollar subscription to the CIES Investment Portfolio, evidenced as deployed.
The documented origin of the capital, business sales, dividends, investment growth, prepared to the standard Hong Kong private banks apply at onboarding.
Clean records from countries of residence and full disclosure across the family, filed once and filed correctly.
Prefer a conversation before anything formal? Our consultants answer Hong Kong questions with complete candour, from the net asset window to schooling waitlists.
Nearly three decades guiding successful emigrations worldwide.
Former Emigration Officials with deep, current knowledge of immigration law.
Considered, discreet guidance tailored precisely to your circumstances.
Thirty million Hong Kong dollars in total: at least twenty seven million across permissible assets, with real estate capped at fifteen million in total, residential within it at ten million, plus three million into the official CIES Investment Portfolio.
You must show thirty million dollars of net assets held through the six months before application, and jointly owned assets now count in proportion to your share.
Yes. A single residential property with a transaction price of HK$30 million or above qualifies. Real estate counts toward the requirement up to HK$15 million in total, with residential capped at HK$10 million.
Your spouse and dependent children under 18, who must be unmarried; the scheme has no route for older children or parents, all sharing the residency.
Seven years of continuous ordinary residence opens the application for permanent residency, the right of abode.
Yes. CIES residents may work, establish businesses and study, unlike several rival programmes in the region.
Market movements do not breach the scheme; you are not required to top up losses, though proceeds from sales must stay reinvested in permissible assets.
Very: no capital gains tax, no dividend tax, no VAT and salaries tax capped in the mid teens, with offshore income generally outside the net. We arrange specialist advice for every family.
Book an assessment and our team will assess your options.
Receive tailored advice and a clear migration strategy built entirely around you.
Let us manage your application from lodgement to decision, or choose to be guided.
Tell us about your assets and family, and our specialists will confirm your eligibility, structure the compliant portfolio and map the road to right of abode.