{"id":8416,"date":"2026-03-19T17:34:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T09:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qicaiying.cn\/?p=8416"},"modified":"2026-03-19T17:34:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T09:34:42","slug":"%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e9%ab%98%e6%89%8d%e9%80%9a2026%e5%b9%b4%e7%94%b3%e8%af%b7%e6%94%bf%e7%ad%96%e5%a4%a7%e5%8f%98%e5%8c%96%ef%bc%81%e4%bc%81%e4%b8%9a%e4%b8%bb%e9%97%a8%e6%a7%9b%e6%8f%90%e9%ab%98","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qicaiying.cn\/en\/archives\/8416","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong High Talent Pass 2026 application policy changes! Business owner threshold increase, Class A shareholding requirements, renewal to permanent residence, audit mechanism a figure out!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Legislative Council of Hong Kong announced the latest data related to the Hong Kong Talent Scheme on January 27, in which for the Highly Talented Persons (HSP), as at the end of 2025, more than 150,000 applications have been received and more than 120,000 approved, of which about 105,000 HSPs have arrived in Hong Kong, with a renewal application rate of 52% and a renewal approval rate as high as 94%. Of the HSPs who have successfully renewed their HSPs, about 95% have an Among the successful applicants, about 95% of them have income higher than the median income of Hong Kong (i.e. over HK$20,000), and the income of 50% of them is nearly double (over HK$40,000). According to the HKSAR Government's estimation, highly talented persons can bring about HK$34 billion of economic contribution to Hong Kong each year, accounting for about 1.2% of the GDP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the renewal figures of the Highly Selective Placement Scheme, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare said that they were \"in line with the Government's expectation\". According to him, talents are selected through a mutual screening process, \"we select talents, and talents also select Hong Kong.\" Compared with the renewal rates of other places in the world, Hong Kong is already quite satisfactory, and will continue to observe and review. Even though the direction of visa renewal for the Highly Talented Persons Scheme is very clear and the Immigration Department is optimistic about it, there are still some participants of the Highly Talented Persons Scheme who encounter difficulties in renewing their visas, and they are either granted short-term stays or are easily refused visas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hong Kong's high talent pass A group of people audit more details, 2026 and re-adjusted the application threshold, through the company's income application requirements increased, if you are considering applying for high talent A class, this article should be carefully read!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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[Small assistant of enterprise financial surplus]<\/strong> If you are confused about whether you meet the income criteria of Highly Talented A, or need to sort out complicated tax and profit documents, please feel free to contact Enterprise Caiying Group directly. We provide domestic (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, etc.) and overseas (Hong Kong, the United States, Singapore, etc.) company registration services, and we can accurately handle every detail of your Hong Kong identity application. Tel\uff1a16620947137,WeChat\uff1aQicaiyingjituan <\/a>The<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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I. Adjustment of the eligibility criteria for Category A of the Hong Kong Advanced Level Exit Exemption (ALE)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

On May 8, 2025, the Hong Kong Immigration Department updated the Highly Qualified Persons Class A [Annual Income Definition Criteria], which mainly involves the annotation of business income. Applicants who declare Highly Qualified Persons Class A with the company's business income need to pay attention to these three points <\/a>::<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Rigidification of shareholding time<\/strong>: Applicants are required to submit their applications inEntire tax assessment year<\/strong>Continuous holding of shares in the relevant company (usually more than 50%) is required to calculate the applicant's annual income from the profits of the company owned by the applicant. This means that the room for \"sudden shareholding\" has been closed.\u00a0<\/a>The<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Clarification of the accounting cycle<\/strong>: The company's revenues are based onEntire tax assessment year<\/strong>The two are accounted for separately and not to be confused with each other, as they are calculated on a periodic basis, while personal income is calculated on the basis of the 12 months preceding the application.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Stricter proof of income<\/strong>: Complete official tax documentation (e.g. tax clearance certificate, audit report) is required for both personal salaries and company profits.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Combined with the previous explanation of the Hong Kong Highly Talented Pass Class A income proof, at the beginning of the Highly Talented Class A need to prove that the taxable employment or business income is wholly owned by the company's annual taxable business income of 2.5 million! Later, the scope of business income is extended to hold 50%\/ or more shares of the company is also regarded as owning the company, the applicant company shareholding more than 50% can also be applied through the business income, but need to be converted in accordance with the proportion of the shares, such as shareholding of 60%, the taxable income needs to be 4.17 million or more! <\/a>The<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    [Small assistant of enterprise financial surplus]<\/strong> After the policy adjustment, the material details have become extremely tedious. If you are planning to pass the company's profit application, but are not sure whether the proportion of shareholding and profit commutation is in line with the latest standards, immediately scan the code to add Enterprise Caiying WeChat (Qicaiyingjituan), our tax experts will be for you to carry out a 1 to 1 pre-qualification, to ensure that you do not take a detour! <\/a>The<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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    II. Renewal Route for Hong Kong Talents Pass Category A Talents<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    The visa period for Category A talents for the first time after the approval of the Hong Kong Highly Talented Persons Scheme has now been extended to3 years<\/strong>The visa will be renewed twice until it reaches 7 years before it can be converted to permanent residence status. <\/a><\/a>The<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Hong Kong Immigration Department requires that when renewing the visa of a high-caliber employee, he\/she is either employed by a local company or he\/she is running his\/her own business in Hong Kong, which can be summarized into four types of visa renewal scenarios. <\/a><\/a>::<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. Employment in Hong Kong<\/strong>: A formal employment contract must be signed with a local Hong Kong enterprise and the remuneration package must be up to market level.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Starting a company in Hong Kong<\/strong>: If you choose to start your own business, the company must have actual business operations, have physical office space, and employ a certain number of employees, provide audit reports and tax returns to ensure that it is not a \"shell company\".<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Transfers within cross-border enterprises<\/strong>: Employed by a cross-border enterprise with an annual salary of HK$1.2 million and above and paying tax in Hong Kong in accordance with the law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. freelancer<\/strong>: Proof of a stable source of income and a significant work product is required.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      There are advantages and disadvantages to both types of renewals<\/strong>: If renewed through employment, it is less flexible and subject to the influence of the employer; if renewed through entrepreneurship, it is more costly financially, butHigher success rate of visa renewal and easier to demonstrate to the Immigration Department your economic contribution to Hong Kong<\/strong> <\/a>The<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      C. What are the vetting criteria for the application and renewal of Hong Kong's Highly Talented Persons (HSP)?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      The Hong Kong Immigration Department has put in place a mechanism to process each application for visa, entry permit and extension of stay under the Migrant Admission Scheme.rigorous examination and approval<\/strong>(b) The applicant must provide the Immigration Department with credible information and documents. When applying for extension of stay (renewal), applicants are required to provide the Immigration Department with credible information and documents, including employment contracts, proof of business operation and accounts, tax returns, etc. <\/a>The<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In vetting and approving each application, the Immigration Department will, where necessary, conduct a review of the information and documents submitted by the applicant.Sampling and verification<\/strong>This includes checking the applicant's status with the issuing organization. It will alsoUnannounced inspections from time to time<\/strong>This includes on-site verification of the mode of operation, financial status and employee information of the employing company, etc., so as to determine whether the information declared by the applicant or the employing company in the visa application is true and correct. <\/a><\/a>The<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Special Alert 2026<\/strong>: The Immigration Department (ImmD) has initiated a more stringent verification mechanism for Talent A applications, focusing on the following high-risk behaviors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n