Amid policy uncertainties, economic distress and growing interest in “run philosophy” – a Chinese social media euphemism for emigration – the launch of the Top Talent Pass Scheme has added to enthusiasm for mainland Chinese to move to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s thirst for talent is also fuelling the trend. In an effort to compensate for the city’s own brain drain over the past three years, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced a slew of measures – including the Top Talent Pass Scheme – in October to woo global talent.
While Chinese emigration inquiries have shot up in the past year as Beijing adhered to its strict zero-Covid policy – which only came to an abrupt end in December – a move to Hong Kong is seen by many as a much more practical option.
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It is closer, so people can maintain lifestyles on both sides of the border; the culture is similar; there is no need to renounce Chinese nationality to obtain a Hong Kong passport; and, most importantly, it is much cheaper.
“For mainland Chinese, it may be the easiest and cheapest emigration pathway,” said Hu Yida, a Hong Kong-based immigration consultant.
He added that the overall cost for a family, from application to permanent residence after living in the city for seven years, might be no more than 1 million yuan (US$148,000).
“And secondly, you don’t have to completely change your place of life, compared to emigrating to foreign countries like Canada. Unlike those super-rich who can emigrate to wherever they want because they no longer have to work, many middle-class people usually can’t afford to abandon all the things they have established at home.”
And while Beijing has cracked down on social media content about emigration, those advertising moves to Hong Kong have it much easier.
With word spreading rapidly online, a growing number of anxious middle-class parents are being tempted by the advantages of a Hong Kong identity card, hoping to secure a better future for their children.
Technology sector worker Leon Yu came across posts about another Hong Kong programme – the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme – on social media last year, during Shanghai’s two-month lockdown.
After a few days of research, the 35-year-old decided to apply, aiming to obtain a dependent visa for his eight-year-old daughter.
I don’t think Hong Kong is essentially a better place for me than Shanghai, but Hong Kong has much richer educational resources
“The most attractive point to me is the future education for my child,” Yu said. “In terms of my own career development, I don’t think Hong Kong is essentially a better place for me than Shanghai, but Hong Kong has much richer educational resources.”
The biggest lure for Yu is the city’s universities, five of which made it into the “QS World University Rankings” top 100 in 2021. Hong Kong permanent residency makes it much easier to be accepted by such local institutions, as well as top universities on the mainland.
“We simply want to give our child more possibilities, and hope she can live an easier and happier life,” said Yu, who is still waiting for approval.
“On the one hand, she can enjoy the benefits of the fast development of mainland China, while, on the other hand, she will be able to absorb different things by being closer to the international community.”
The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme also allows people to remain in the city for 24 months without employment, but the application process usually takes several months and candidates must pass points-based tests, while a visa can be issued under the Top Talent Pass Scheme in just a matter of days.
But for parents who are not willing to give up businesses and careers in mainland China to relocate to Hong Kong, the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme might be a better option as landing a job in the city is not necessarily a requisite for an extension of stay after two years, agents said.
“Around 90 per cent of the mainland applicants [for the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme] are applying because of their children,” Hu added. “The surge in inquiries was mainly in 2022 – the business was booming.”
Though the scheme, which began in 2006, is open to people from all over the world, mainland Chinese have accounted for almost 90 per cent of applicants, according to data from the Hong Kong government.
A major trigger of the applications, I feel, was Shanghai. The lockdown has had huge impacts on parents
Even though the annual quota for the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme was doubled from 2,000 to 4,000 last year, an applicant’s chances of obtaining a visa might have decreased as applications surged, emigration agents said.
In 2021, it received 5,365 applications, and the 2022 figure is expected to have more than doubled when it is announced this week.
“A major trigger of the applications, I feel, was Shanghai,” Hu said. “The lockdown has had huge impacts on parents.”
In his maiden policy address in October, Hong Kong chief executive Lee also announced the annual quota for the scheme would be suspended in 2023 and 2024.
Lin Lin, a Shenzhen-based agent who specialises in Hong Kong entry schemes, said inquiries rose after Lee’s announcement.
“Many people coming to inquire may not necessarily want to ‘run’ and leave the mainland, they may just want to clip the coupons from the Hong Kong government,” Lin said.
Some Xiaohongshu users also expressed uncertainty or even reluctance about moving to Hong Kong even though they had been granted visas under the Top Talent Pass Scheme.
One applicant said it was “even easier than applying for a library card”.
“Even though I probably will not move to Hong Kong for work, it is still good that I can use it as a ‘tourist visa’ valid for two years, from which I can even get an ID card and free [Covid-19] vaccines,” the user added.
Another user, whose application was approved on January 2, said: “I don’t plan to go to Hong Kong to work full-time in the future, but I’m interested in the city’s permanent residence. How should I deal with the visa extension two years later?”
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But others have changed their minds recently. Even though they obtained visas under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme a few years ago, Lily Fan and her family had been staying in Guangdong province. But she moved to Hong Kong in the second half of last year.
She rented a two-bedroom flat in Kowloon Tong, one of the most expensive residential districts in the city, and paid 14 months of rent upfront, aiming to find a spot in one of the area’s international schools for her son.
Fan said she thought it would be easier to get a place as international schools had been losing students amid the city’s own emigration wave, but the competition was still fierce as many other mainland families were also moving to the city.
“Although the ‘gold content’ of a Hong Kong identity has plummeted in the past few years, many rich and well-educated people on the mainland once again regarded Hong Kong as a life-saving straw amid repeated lockdowns and mounting economic uncertainties,” she said.
In the past, when the domestic economy was booming, everyone looked down on Hong Kong
Fan said she had only recently begun to consider that Hong Kong would be a better place for her son’s education and future, especially since Beijing tightened its grip on international schools at the end of 2021.
“In the past, when the domestic economy was booming, everyone looked down on Hong Kong,” she said.
“But now many mainland families with ability and financial resources plan to move to Hong Kong. A lot of people around me are planning.
“After all, it is important to move their children to places with a high degree of freedom and internationalisation while there is still a chance.
“I’m so glad we did this a few years ago, and I also encourage my friends to act quickly. It’s much more difficult to move to Europe and the United States now. We must seize the opportunity in Hong Kong.”
