New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme with Threshold of HK$30 million

Full details of the new Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (“CIES”), that the government announced in December last year, has now been released.

Applications are open to eligible investors:

• who are aged 18 or above and are foreign nationals, Chinese nationals who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country, Macao Special Administrative Region residents or Chinese residents of Taiwan;
• and who can invest HK$30 million or more in Hong Kong.

Regarding the HK$30 million of investments, a minimum of HK$27 million is to be invested in permissible assets such as stocks, funds, bonds and non-residential property, and HK$3 million is to be placed into a new CIES Investment Portfolio, which will be set up and managed by the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited to make investments in companies/projects with a Hong Kong nexus, with the aim to support the development of innovation and technology industries and other strategic industries that are beneficial to Hong Kong’s long-term economic development.

An applicant must demonstrate that he/she has net assets of not less than HK$30 million to which he/she is absolutely beneficially entitled throughout the two years preceding the application. A successful applicant may bring his/her dependants, including spouse and unmarried dependent children aged under 18 years, to Hong Kong.

An applicant should also demonstrate 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.

Invest Hong Kong will be responsible for assessing whether the applications fulfil the net asset and investment requirements, while the Immigration Department will be responsible for assessing the applications for visa/entry permits, extensions of stay, etc.

The government is now accepting applications, which can be submitted by post or in person. Full details and FAQs about the scheme can be found at the new CIES website and at the Immigration Department website.