Global Residency Programs Report: Hong Kong

Under Hong Kong’s New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES), foreign nationals, Macao or Taiwan residents, and Chinese nationals holding permanent residency abroad can secure right-of-stay entry by investing a minimum of HKD 30 million (approximately 3.85 million USD). This capital must be divided: at least HKD 27 million (approximately 3.46 million USD) must be deployed into permissible financial assets — such as equities, debt securities and approved collective investment schemes — and/or commercial real estate (or residential properties transaction-priced at HKD 50 million or above, ring-fenced to count up to an aggregate real-estate cap of HKD 10 million). The remaining HKD 3 million (approximately 385,000 USD) must be ring-fenced and placed into the government-managed CIES Investment Portfolio to support local innovation, technology and strategic industries. To qualify, the primary applicant must be at least 18 years old, prove a net-asset cushion of at least HKD 30 million throughout the preceding six months, and maintain the investment over an initial 24-month period, extendable in 3-year increments and potentially leading to permanent residency after seven years of continuous ordinary residence.