TTPS, One-way Permit and New CIES for Mainland Families

Intro: Three Institutional Pathways, Three Family Equations

When mainland middle-class families plan their move to Hong Kong, they often encounter three institutional channels jointly constituted by the Hong Kong Immigration Department and the mainland exit-entry administration authorities: the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS), the One-way Permit (i.e. the “Exit Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao” category), and the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES) (the successor to the now-closed Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES), which was later relaunched). These three are not substitutes on the same dimension; rather, they correspond to three entirely different policy logics — “skill premium”, “family quota” and “asset admission”. They are placed side by side not because they suit the same group of applicants, but so that mainland middle-class families can clearly understand the “rules of the game” for each pathway before committing their time, capital and opportunity cost.

The TTPS: Talent Leverage and the Skill Premium

The TTPS aims to attract high-calibre talent from around the world with substantial work experience and a high level of academic qualification to explore opportunities in Hong Kong, and applicants need not already have secured employment in Hong Kong when they apply. According to the classification of eligible persons set out on the Immigration Department’s TTPS page, an applicant must meet one of the following three categories of criteria:

• Category A: an annual income of HK$2.5 million or above (or equivalent in foreign currency) in the year immediately preceding the application;
• Category B: a bachelor’s degree awarded by an eligible university, with at least three years of work experience accumulated in the five years immediately preceding the application;
• Category C: a bachelor’s degree from an eligible university obtained in the five years immediately preceding the application, but with less than three years of work experience; this category is subject to an annual quota and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Within the above classification, both Category B and Category C are strictly limited to a “bachelor’s degree”; a master’s or doctoral degree does not qualify unless the applicant also holds a bachelor’s degree from an eligible university. Category A, by contrast, uses income as its sole anchor and asks no questions about academic background or age, opening a window for business owners, senior partners or professionals with higher cross-border income.

Under the TTPS, the limit of stay is set by category: Category A is granted an initial limit of stay of 36 months upon first entry, while Category B and Category C receive 24 months. Thereafter, an application for extension of stay may be made before the limit of stay expires; the applicant must show that they are employed in Hong Kong with a stable income, or have established or are participating in a business in Hong Kong. An extension is normally granted for no more than three years, or until the expiry of the employment contract in Hong Kong (whichever is shorter). Those who meet the “Top Talent” category (having been in Hong Kong for no less than two years and with an assessed income for salaries tax purposes of HK$2 million or above in the preceding assessment year) are normally granted an extension of six years. After seven years of continuous ordinary residence, an application may be made to the Immigration Department to verify permanent resident status. It should be noted that the TTPS does not come with an “unconditional stay” option; if, at the time of renewal, the applicant cannot demonstrate real employment or business substance, the stay will not be extended and the path to permanent residency will be broken.

The One-way Permit: Quotas, Family Ties and the Certainty of a Long Wait

Once the application is approved by the mainland exit-entry administration authorities, the applicant must cancel their household registration in the mainland, depart with the “Exit Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao”, and upon arrival in Hong Kong is immediately issued a Hong Kong Identity Card (non-permanent) and begins to accrue years of residence in Hong Kong.

The cost of the One-way Permit pathway lies in “time rigidity” and “quota queuing”. Taking the spouse reunion category as an example, a mainland spouse must wait a certain number of years before becoming eligible to come to Hong Kong under the One-way Permit. Because the daily quota is fixed, applicants cannot shorten the waiting period by increasing their financial means, academic qualifications or securing an employer’s sponsorship, which makes this the only channel among the three pathways with an “unacceleratable” character.

After seven years of continuous ordinary residence, an application may be made in accordance with the law to verify Hong Kong permanent resident status. For mainland middle-class families that already have lineal relatives settled in Hong Kong and are not in a hurry to relocate in the short term, the One-way Permit offers a certain path with no asset or academic threshold, but on the premise that they are willing to accept the pace of the waiting list.

The New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES): Asset Admission and a Passive Investment Framework

The former Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES) has been closed, and the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme was subsequently launched, reopening a migration channel for high-net-worth individuals based solely on investment. The new scheme does not apply to residents of mainland China, unless the applicant has already obtained permanent residency in a foreign country. This means that, if a mainland middle-class family wishes to activate this pathway, they would normally first need to complete an offshore status arrangement.

The asset threshold is the clearest filter of the New CIES. The applicant must, throughout the entire six-month period preceding the application for net asset review, beneficially own net assets with a net value of not less than HK$30 million (or equivalent in foreign currency), and must, after approval, invest not less than HK$30 million in net value in permitted investment assets that they beneficially own. Of this, at least HK$27 million must be invested in permitted financial assets and/or real estate (the overall investment cap on real estate counting towards the investment threshold is HK$15 million, of which the cap on residential real estate investment is HK$10 million, and this cap applies to real estate investments with a completion date of 17 September 2025 or later), and a further HK$3 million must be placed into the “Capital Investment Entrant Scheme Investment Portfolio”, a portfolio established and supervised by the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited, which primarily invests in projects connected to Hong Kong.

The approval process runs on two tracks by InvestHK and the Immigration Department: InvestHK is responsible for reviewing asset and investment compliance, while the Immigration Department approves visas and extensions. After the applicant completes the investment and it is verified by InvestHK, the applicant and their dependants are normally granted a stay in Hong Kong of no more than 24 months; thereafter, if they continue to meet the investment management requirements and general immigration requirements, they are normally granted an extension of stay not exceeding three years upon approval. After no less than seven years of continuous ordinary residence, an application for Hong Kong permanent resident status may be made in accordance with the law; if, after no less than seven years of continuous compliance with the investment management requirements, the ordinary residence requirement is not met, an application for unconditional limited stay may be made after seven years. This “unconditional stay” option is an institutional design unique to the New CIES, and constitutes a significant attraction for investors who are unwilling to renounce their original nationality or do not intend to apply for the HKSAR passport.

A Horizontal Comparison of Core Dimensions: Quotas, Approval Logic and the Permanent Residency Pathway

At the operational level, the three pathways form a clear complementary structure. The table below extracts six sets of key parameters from the applicant’s decision-making perspective:

• Approving authority: Hong Kong Immigration Department · Mainland public security authorities (with the Hong Kong Immigration Department cooperating in receipt) · InvestHK + Immigration Department
• Quota restrictions: Category C is subject to an annual quota, first-come first-served; Categories A and B have no limit · A daily quota cap of 150 · No quota
• Asset / income threshold: Category A annual income HK$2.5 million; Categories B and C none · None · Must beneficially hold net assets of not less than HK$30 million throughout the entire six-month period preceding the net asset review application; investment amount HK$30 million
• Academic / family requirements: Categories B and C require a bachelor’s degree from an eligible university · Must have an eligible family relationship with a Hong Kong permanent resident · None
• Initial limit of stay and renewal model: Category A 36 months, Categories B/C 24 months; renewal normally no more than three years or until expiry of employment contract (must show employment or establishment/participation in a business), Top Talent category six years · Upon arrival, non-permanent resident status is granted, with no renewal condition · No more than 24 months; renewal normally not exceeding three years, must maintain investment
• Options after seven consecutive years: Apply for permanent resident · Apply for permanent resident · Permanent resident or unconditional stay

The above comparison reveals a deeper message: the TTPS is a “talent filter” that trades proof of skill or income for residence flexibility; the One-way Permit is a “family reunion channel” that trades family ties and quota queuing for certainty; the New CIES is an “asset-anchoring mechanism” that trades investment constraints for long-term residence freedom.

Strategic Planning: Choosing a Course for Mainland Middle-Class Families

The three pathways above are not mutually exclusive, and in practice relay or complementary strategic configurations may appear; however, given the scarcity of time cost and financial resources, middle-class families should, at the planning stage, weigh trade-offs around the following three axes:

The combined advantage of income and academic qualifications. If the family’s principal applicant has a stable annual income exceeding HK$2.5 million, or holds a bachelor’s degree from an eligible university with more than three years of work experience, TTPS Category A or B is almost the option with the fastest approval and the lowest upfront cost. The Immigration Department normally takes about four weeks to process the relevant application, making it suitable for professionals who need to obtain Hong Kong resident status quickly and intend to work or start a business in Hong Kong.

The time flexibility of family relationships. For families that already have lineal relatives in Hong Kong but do not hold an eligible university degree or substantial liquid assets, the One-way Permit offers a zero-asset-threshold pathway. The planning focus lies in accurately estimating the waiting years, so as to synchronise arrangements for children’s education, asset transfers and career transitions. It should be noted that cancellation of mainland household registration will trigger a chain of tax and property-rights effects, and families should complete thorough tax and succession planning before applying.

Preference for asset scale and passive income. When a family’s liquid asset scale exceeds HK$30 million and it does not wish to tie its Hong Kong right of abode to “having to work”, the New CIES provides an institutionalised solution. Its “unconditional stay” option is a unique design among the three pathways, allowing applicants to retain their right of abode without naturalising as permanent residents, which is especially important for families with cross-border asset allocation.

Whichever pathway is chosen, seven years of continuous ordinary residence is the uniform precondition for Hong Kong permanent resident status. According to the official definition, a person who resides in Hong Kong lawfully, voluntarily and for the purpose of settling (for example, through study, work or residence, etc.), regardless of duration, is regarded as ordinarily residing in Hong Kong; a temporary absence from Hong Kong is still regarded as ordinary residence. Therefore, from the moment the first limit of stay is granted, families should systematically accumulate residence records, so as to smoothly pass verification in the seventh year.

Conclusion: Clarify the Pathway, Anchor the Resources

TTPS, the One-way Permit and the New CIES outline three entirely different equations for migrating to Hong Kong: talent is priced by ability, relatives queue by relationship, and capital buys speed with scale. Rather than asking “which pathway is best”, mainland middle-class families should first take stock of their own academic structure, income curve, family network and liquid assets, and then map the results against the rigid thresholds of each pathway. Once policy has framed the options, the family’s remaining task is to concentrate limited resources on the channel offering the greatest time efficiency and financial affordability, and to pre-build a compliant framework for seven years of residence records.

This article is for informational reference only and does not constitute legal advice. Any decision involving a visa application or tax planning should be discussed with a qualified practising solicitor or professional adviser in Hong Kong.