The General Points Test uses 12 assessment criteria across six aspects rather than the old item-by-item score table.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong Quality Migrant Admission Scheme
Review current assessment criteria using evidence of education, language, work and achievements.
Request a free initial assessmentTalent admission scheme
Applicants need to meet at least six criteria to submit under this assessment route; meeting the threshold does not guarantee approval.
The Achievement-based Points Test has separate requirements.
Hong Kong Quality Migrant Admission Scheme: country, programme and household planning
QMAS is a talent-admission scheme. The current General Points Test has twelve criteria across six areas and requires at least six; achievement-based assessment is separate.
QMAS is relevant to applicants considering Hong Kong around their professional, educational and achievement background. Translate the current assessment criteria into an evidence checklist, then assess work and household plans.
Hong Kong is an international commercial and financial city with close mainland business and family links. Assess a proposed career, operating business, housing and school arrangements together. Incorporating a company or holding assets does not itself grant residence.
QMAS evaluates talent criteria, while New CIES involves applicant-category, asset and investment requirements. Admission, extension, ordinary residence and permanent-resident eligibility are distinct stages. Hong Kong permanent residence and an HKSAR passport are also separate; passport eligibility includes nationality requirements.
1. Programme overview and current arrangements
QMAS is a talent-admission scheme. The current General Points Test has twelve criteria across six areas and requires at least six; achievement-based assessment is separate.
QMAS is relevant to applicants considering Hong Kong around their professional, educational and achievement background. Translate the current assessment criteria into an evidence checklist, then assess work and household plans.
The General Points Test uses 12 assessment criteria across six aspects rather than the old item-by-item score table.
Applicants need to meet at least six criteria to submit under this assessment route; meeting the threshold does not guarantee approval.
The Achievement-based Points Test has separate requirements.
Admission, extension and permanent-resident eligibility are separate assessments.
2. Available routes, investment structure and status outcome
An asset route needs evidence of ownership, source and the qualifying arrangement. A talent route needs education, work and achievement evidence. Similar-looking programmes can define assets, assessment dates and achievements differently. Start with an accurate profile. Occupational licensing, business activity and investment products may require separate permissions.
Residence permission, permanent residence and citizenship are different legal processes. A residence permit does not confer a passport or rights to live and work everywhere else. Review renewal, residence, family eligibility and any subsequent application from the first permission onward. A future possibility should not be represented as the result of the initial application.
3. Fees and the household budget
A useful budget separates qualifying investment or contribution, government fees, professional services, third-party preparation and family living or ongoing costs. A headline minimum is not an all-inclusive price. Translation, medical examinations, checks, banking, insurance, travel and renewals may add costs. A written quotation should identify currency, scope, milestones, refund provisions and exclusions. Allow for exchange-rate movement and transfer charges. Confirm the correct beneficiary and payment instruction before sending funds, and retain payment records separately from official decisions.
4. Eligibility and required documents
The General Points Test uses 12 assessment criteria across six aspects rather than the old item-by-item score table. Applicants need to meet at least six criteria to submit under this assessment route; meeting the threshold does not guarantee approval. The Achievement-based Points Test has separate requirements. Admission, extension and permanent-resident eligibility are separate assessments.
Map each criterion to the applicable period and independent documents. Distinguish company revenue from personal income and job titles from actual responsibilities.
Building a complete evidence record
Good preparation makes the documents tell one consistent story. Check names, dates, employers, qualifications, asset ownership and previous immigration declarations across the file. Resolve spelling differences and unexplained gaps with genuine records. Employment evidence should describe work actually performed. Financial evidence should connect the source of money, ownership and the proposed payment. Keep originals and arrange translations, certification or legalisation according to the receiving authority’s instructions and validity requirements.
5. Dependants and household arrangements
A family package is not an eligibility decision. Spouses, partners, minor children, adult children and parents can fall under different rules. Age, dependency, marital status and custody may affect the evidence required. Keep a family schedule showing dates of birth, relationships, who will apply and intended travel dates. Review approaching birthdays, passport expiry and changes in family circumstances before submission. Ask how a later application or change would affect the process and the quoted cost.
Work, investment, residence, schooling and the spouse’s status should form one practical plan. Maintain annual records of income, housing, employment or investment management. If family life remains mainly elsewhere, review the effect on renewal or later permanent status. Assess legal conditions and the lifestyle the family can sustain together.
6. Timing and arrangements after approval
Maintain a schedule for entry deadlines, document expiry, residence conditions, investment holding obligations and renewal dates. Employment, study, healthcare, tax and banking have their own requirements. A passport or residence permit alone does not determine tax residence everywhere. Families and businesses operating across borders should seek separate tax advice. Check reporting obligations after changes of address, passport or family circumstances. Citizenship, permanent residence and temporary permission require different forms of ongoing management.
Separate assessment, preparation, prerequisites, government review and final documents. Account separately for invitations, quotas or visa availability and any investment or operating period, so household plans follow the actual milestones.
7. Core advantages and practical uses
Its central feature is talent-based assessment rather than a fixed investment threshold. Compare it with employment and investment routes, and assess extensions and permanent residence separately.
8. Who should consider this programme
Candidates should assess documented education, professional or business experience, language and intended development in Hong Kong against actual criteria.
For Hong Kong Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, define the intended status, participating family members and available capital and time. Compare those goals with the eligibility and rights described above and establish the evidence still required.
9. Compare related routes and selection priorities
Compare more than the first grant. Create an annual plan for residence, employment, education, investment and renewals for each family member. Asset routes can have separate assessment, implementation and maintenance dates; talent routes depend on education, experience, achievements and subsequent activity. Verify designated accounts, qualifying products and ownership dates before moving money. Consider whether the family can sustain required residence or local development alongside other businesses. Dependants have their own rules. Check document validity, departure and re-entry against actual travel. If permanent residence or citizenship is a later objective, record its legal conditions and application stages separately. Update the assessment after major changes instead of attempting to reconstruct years of evidence at renewal.
Compare the same household profile and currency budget across committed capital, non-refundable spending, government charges and ongoing costs. Then compare the status obtained, prerequisites and obligations; related pages provide the route-specific detail.
10. Complete process: assessment to the status outcome
Prepare the online application and supporting records, respond to requests and manage the granted period. Keep genuine development and residence evidence for extensions and any later permanent-resident assessment.
Step 1: Assess the household’s goal and status
Define the work, study, investment, family or settlement goal and record current nationality and permission expiry.
Step 2: Choose a current pathway
Narrow the options using the eligibility and current position described here, then establish the exact official category.
Step 3: Prepare evidence and a complete budget
Build the evidence checklist and budget, including the relevant language, education, employment, family and financial records.
Step 4: Complete the filing procedure
Complete the category’s prerequisite approvals, invitations or support and retain the official filing and payment records.
Step 5: Assessment and status management
Respond to the official review while separately managing current residence, work or study permission.
Step 6: Grant and ongoing arrangements
Use the granted permission according to the final documents and complete the entry, maintenance, renewal and household arrangements.
PremierVisa Hong Kong: services and professional support
(1) Hong Kong team and Chinese-language support
PremierVisa Group’s Hong Kong team turns household goals into a clear preparation plan. The initial consultation addresses family composition, status, career or business, budget and timing.
(2) Evidence organised around the chosen route
For Hong Kong Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, the team maps the listed eligibility, financial and household requirements to the evidence available and still required, including translation and certification.
(3) Clear costs and application milestones
Before engagement, agree the service scope, responsibilities, government and third-party costs, payment stages and cancellation arrangements. Follow-up distinguishes filing, invitation, decision and document issuance; any regulated professional work needs its own confirmed scope.
(4) Connect the status outcome with household plans
Plan education, work or business continuity, travel and document validity alongside the application. Begin with a concise household and financial profile, then prepare the supporting records for the chosen status.
Frequently asked questions
Q1：Does QMAS still use the former point totals?
Use the current twelve-criterion General Points Test rather than former point totals.
Q2：Does meeting six criteria guarantee approval?
No. It is a submission threshold; the authority still assesses and decides.
Q3：Is a QMAS grant an HKSAR passport?
No. Admission, permanent residence and passport eligibility are separate, including nationality conditions.
Q4：Which current requirements should I use?
The General Points Test uses 12 assessment criteria across six aspects rather than the old item-by-item score table. Applicants need to meet at least six criteria to submit under this assessment route; meeting the threshold does not guarantee approval. The Achievement-based Points Test has separate requirements. Admission, extension and permanent-resident eligibility are separate assessments.
Q5：What profile should seek an initial assessment?
Candidates should assess documented education, professional or business experience, language and intended development in Hong Kong against actual criteria.
Q6：What are the core advantages to compare?
Its central feature is talent-based assessment rather than a fixed investment threshold. Compare it with employment and investment routes, and assess extensions and permanent residence separately.
Q7：How does the minimum differ from the full cost?
Government, professional, document and household costs need a separate written scope and payment schedule.
Q8：What should family members prepare?
A family package is not an eligibility decision. Spouses, partners, minor children, adult children and parents can fall under different rules. Age, dependency, marital status and custody may affect the evidence required. Keep a family schedule showing dates of birth, relationships, who will apply and intended travel dates. Review approaching birthdays, passport expiry and changes in family circumstances before submission. Ask how a later application or change would affect the process and the quoted cost.
Q9：Which evidence checks matter most?
Map each criterion to the applicable period and independent documents. Distinguish company revenue from personal income and job titles from actual responsibilities.
Q10：Where should the application process start?
Prepare the online application and supporting records, respond to requests and manage the granted period. Keep genuine development and residence evidence for extensions and any later permanent-resident assessment.
Q11：What does a receipt or payment notice mean?
Assessment, registration of interest, invitation, filing, approval in principle and final document issuance are separate milestones. A receipt is not an approval, and completion of one stage does not necessarily authorise travel or employment. Plan document collection, external checks, government processing, requests for further evidence and final issuance separately. Published processing information describes past cases and is not a personal deadline. Keep flexibility around housing, school enrolment, employment changes and asset sales until the required permission is available.
Q12：What needs managing after approval?
Maintain a schedule for entry deadlines, document expiry, residence conditions, investment holding obligations and renewal dates. Employment, study, healthcare, tax and banking have their own requirements. A passport or residence permit alone does not determine tax residence everywhere. Families and businesses operating across borders should seek separate tax advice. Check reporting obligations after changes of address, passport or family circumstances. Citizenship, permanent residence and temporary permission require different forms of ongoing management.
Q13：How should I compare residence, citizenship and other countries’ rights?
Establish whether the outcome is work or visit permission, residence or citizenship, then check work, study and travel rights. Other countries apply their own entry and settlement rules.
Q14：What belongs in the route comparison?
QMAS is relevant to applicants considering Hong Kong around their professional, educational and achievement background. Translate the current assessment criteria into an evidence checklist, then assess work and household plans.
Q15：How can PremierVisa help with this route?
Review the current position of Hong Kong Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, household eligibility and the route-specific evidence above. Agree preparation, external professional work and post-decision services in writing.
Official information
Consult the applicable official rules when applying. Unconfirmed costs or conditions require further verification.
www.immd.gov.hk · Read requirements