QMAS 12 Criteria Scoring Guide and Six-Criterion Threshold

Introduction: From Points-Based to Hard Assessment — QMAS’s Major 2024 Overhaul

Hong Kong’s Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) — hereinafter “QMAS” — underwent a series of changes from 2023, and on 1 November 2024 formally abolished the long-standing General Points Test (GPT) and Achievement-based Points Test (APT), replacing them with an entirely new 12-assessment-criterion mechanism. The Immigration Department clearly stipulates that an applicant must meet at least 6 of the 12 criteria before a submission can be made (see the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme page). This change replaces the previous flexible selection model of “qualify by accruing points and enter the pool” with a “hard threshold” filter, and substantially raises the bar for documentary evidence. This article takes a criterion-by-criterion approach, drawing on primary sources and typical grading cases, to provide readers intending to come to Hong Kong via the QMAS route with a clear self-assessment framework.

Overview of the 12 Criteria and the Scoring Logic

The current 12 assessment criteria cover six broad areas: age, academic qualifications, work experience, language ability, annual income and business ownership. Each criterion is essentially a binary “yes/no” judgement: meet the condition and you score one; fail to meet it and you score none. There are no half-points or weighting differences — accumulate 6 criteria and you become eligible to apply. This design effectively requires applicants to possess outstanding credentials across multiple dimensions; extreme excellence in a single area, without support from other areas, may not clear the threshold.

The following are the official statements of the 12 criteria, based on the Immigration Department’s assessment mechanism:

1. At the time of submission, the applicant must be under 50 years of age;
2. Hold a bachelor’s degree awarded by a recognised university;
3. Hold a master’s or doctoral degree awarded by a recognised university;
4. Hold a degree in a STEM discipline (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) awarded by a recognised university;
5. Possess no less than 5 years of work experience at degree level or expert level;
6. Possess no less than 3 years of work experience at a multinational corporation or a renowned enterprise;
7. Possess no less than 2 years of international work experience;
8. Possess good Chinese writing and oral ability (including Putonghua or Cantonese);
9. Possess good English writing and oral ability;
10. The applicant’s total annual income in the year immediately preceding the application reaches HK$2.5 million or above (or its equivalent in foreign currency);
11. The applicant currently owns a business whose profit for the full year immediately preceding the application reaches HK$5 million or above;
12. The applicant currently owns a listed company.

Note that criteria 2 and 3 above can be counted cumulatively: a master’s degree holder will usually also meet the bachelor’s degree requirement, meaning a single degree can yield two criteria met. However, the bonus of criterion 4 (a STEM degree) depends on the major field, and not all master’s degrees will satisfy it. Criteria 8 and 9 are likewise calculated independently, so a person proficient in both Chinese and English can take both. Criteria 10 to 12 fall within the high-threshold financial category; most applicants may not be able to meet the bar on these alone, but for business owners and highly paid professionals they are key aids.

Criterion-by-Criterion Scoring Guide: Cases and Common Misjudgements

Age and Academic Qualifications Combination (Criteria 1 to 4)

Criterion 1 (under 50) is almost a certain point for the vast majority of working applicants, yet if the applicant has already turned 50 on the day of submission, the eligibility is lost with no grace period. There have been cases where an applicant mistakenly thought the age “at the time of approval” would count, only to be rejected outright after ageing out during the waiting period. The Immigration Department explicitly stipulates that “the time of submitting the application” is the reference point.

Criterion 2 (bachelor’s degree from a recognised university) and Criterion 3 (master’s/doctoral degree): the Immigration Department maintains a designated “list of recognised universities”, based mainly on rankings such as QS, THE and U.S. News, and also accepts institutions accredited by recognised evaluators. An applicant holding a degree from a non-recognised university, even with a master’s qualification, may lose both criteria. The supporting documents must include the graduation certificate and academic transcript; if the degree was not taught in Chinese or English, a translated copy must also be attached.

Criterion 4 (STEM degree): the Immigration Department’s definition of STEM follows the classifications of the Education Bureau and the Innovation and Technology Commission, covering computer science, data engineering, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, environmental science and the like. In practice, the applicant must submit transcripts to prove the major subject falls within the scope, rather than relying solely on the degree title. For example, an applicant holding a master’s degree in “Information Management” may be refused STEM classification because the programme leans toward business, whereas “Data Science” would safely qualify.

Grading Case 1: A 29-year-old applicant holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science (First-Class Honours) from Imperial College London and a master’s in Machine Learning from the University of Cambridge. Age scores Criterion 1; the bachelor’s scores Criterion 2; the master’s scores Criterion 3; the STEM degree (both the bachelor’s and master’s qualify) scores Criterion 4. This already secures 4 criteria, and the applicant needs only 2 more from the work experience or language areas to meet the threshold.

The Three Work-Experience Criteria (Criteria 5 to 7)

Criterion 5 (no less than 5 years of degree-level/expert-level experience) is the basic threshold within the work-experience area. The Immigration Department makes a comprehensive judgement of “expert level” based on the nature of the applicant’s position, the description of duties, the size of the company and past salary level. Generally, the role must be at management or professional-technical level, and the applicant must hold a relevant degree. Years of full-time work can be accumulated, whereas part-time or internship periods are mostly not counted.

Criterion 6 (no less than 3 years at a multinational corporation or renowned enterprise): the key lies in the definitions of “multinational corporation” and “renowned enterprise”. The Immigration Department refers to lists such as the Forbes 2000, FTSE 100 or Fortune 500, and also accepts enterprises with an international business scale that do not appear on those lists, provided the applicant furnishes proof — for example, by supplying annual reports or an organisational chart to demonstrate operations spanning multiple countries. Renowned enterprises include industry leaders, which the Immigration Department screens against reasonable criteria.

Criterion 7 (no less than 2 years of international work experience) must consist of work experience in a country other than the applicant’s place of origin; a posting to the Mainland while based there can also count, but working remotely for an overseas company while physically in one’s place of origin is generally not recognised. Here, a work visa, tax document or local pay evidence is required.

Common misjudgement: applicants mistakenly believe that working at a local foreign-invested subsidiary counts as “international work experience”, whereas in fact Criterion 6 (multinational corporation experience) and Criterion 7 (working overseas) are independent criteria. The same stretch of career can meet both, but the supporting documents must correspond separately.

Grading Case 2: A 38-year-old IT director with 12 years of work experience in total, including 4 years at Microsoft’s US headquarters and the remaining 8 years at Microsoft Research Asia in Hong Kong. This applicant can secure Criterion 5 (12 years > 5 years of expert experience), Criterion 6 (Microsoft is both a multinational and a Fortune 500 company, with over 3 years of service) and Criterion 7 (4 years in the US counts as international experience). The work area alone yields 3 criteria.

The Two Language-Ability Criteria (Criteria 8 and 9)

The assessment standards for Chinese ability (Criterion 8) and English ability (Criterion 9) became clearer after the revision. According to the Immigration Department’s FAQ, an applicant may prove ability through either public examination results or the medium of instruction of the degree. Chinese ability can be shown by a Putonghua Proficiency Test at Level 2-A or above, or a Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Chinese Language subject at Level 3 or above, or a bachelor’s degree taught in Chinese; English requires an IELTS overall band of 6.0 or above, or a TOEFL score of no less than 80 (internet-based test), or a degree taught in English.

Note: if an applicant’s degree was taught bilingually in both Chinese and English, it may not automatically satisfy both criteria; the applicant must submit institutional proof showing the proportion of the primary medium of instruction. In addition, Putonghua and Cantonese are treated as equivalent in the official definition, and the applicant may choose either. However, if the applicant can only demonstrate Cantonese conversational ability without a formal qualification, the Immigration Department may require an interview assessment, which is a more drawn-out process, so it is advisable to prepare the relevant certificate.

Grading Case 3: A 41-year-old applicant from the Mainland, whose undergraduate degree at Tsinghua University was studied in Chinese and who holds a Level 1 Putonghua Proficiency Test certificate, and who also completed an entirely English-taught master’s at the University of Warwick in the UK. This applicant can take Criterion 8 via the Chinese degree and the Putonghua certificate, and take Criterion 9 via the UK master’s degree. Both language criteria are secured.

The Three Annual-Income and Business-Ownership Criteria (Criteria 10 to 12)

These three criteria are newly introduced “financial/enterprise” thresholds in this reform, directly excluding applicants whose income does not reach the high end.

Criterion 10: total annual income in the year immediately preceding the application of no less than HK$2.5 million. The “income” recognised by the Immigration Department includes salary, bonuses, commissions and personal earnings from a business, but excludes passive income such as interest, dividends and rent. The applicant must submit an audited personal profit-and-loss statement or a tax assessment document. This criterion favours employed senior executives, investment bankers and seasoned professionals.

Criterion 11: the applicant currently owns a business whose profit for the full year immediately preceding the application is no less than HK$5 million. Profit is defined as net profit after deducting expenses, and must be verified by a Hong Kong certified public accountant or a locally practising accountant. If the business is a multi-partner partnership, the applicant must own no less than 50% of the business for it to count.

Criterion 12: the applicant currently owns a listed company. Here, the requirement is that the applicant is a major shareholder or actual controller of the listed company, not a small investor holding shares passively. A listed company is defined as one listed on a major market such as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq or the London Stock Exchange.

Grading Case 4: A 46-year-old technology start-up founder whose company listed on Nasdaq three years ago, holding 30% equity and serving as Chief Executive Officer. This applicant meets Criterion 12 (listed company), and with last year’s annual salary plus bonus reaching HK$3.2 million, also meets Criterion 10. If the company’s cumulative profit reaches HK$5 million, Criterion 11 can be taken as well. Securing two of the three contributes significantly to the overall tally.

Threshold-Combination Cases: Strategic Analysis from 6 to 12 Criteria

To help readers further understand how the “6 criteria” are achieved, the following presents three representative combination cases, showing how applicants with different backgrounds piece together a pass.

Case A: Young STEM Specialist (6 criteria)

• Age 28 (Criterion 1)
• Bachelor of Computer Science, University of Hong Kong (Criterion 2 + Criterion 4 STEM)
• No master’s degree
• 3 years of work experience, during which employed at a local technology company (fails to secure Criterion 5)
• Languages: native Chinese (Criterion 8), IELTS 7.0 (Criterion 9)
• Annual income below HK$2.5 million, no business
  Criteria obtained: 1, 2, 4, 8, 9 — only 5 criteria, one short of being able to apply.

This case shows that even with a STEM degree and good language ability, fewer than five years of work constitutes a bottleneck. The applicant should accumulate sufficient years of service before submitting.

Case B: Mid-Level Multinational Employee (7 criteria)

• Age 35 (Criterion 1)
• Bachelor of Business Administration, Fudan University (Criterion 2)
• EMBA, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Criterion 3, non-STEM)
• 9 years of work experience, including 5 years at Huawei’s Shenzhen headquarters (renowned enterprise) and 2 years posted to Germany (international experience). This secures Criteria 5, 6 and 7.
• Languages: Chinese (Criterion 8); unable to provide English results (fails to secure Criterion 9)
• Annual income HK$1.8 million
  Criteria obtained: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 — 7 criteria in total, a comfortable pass.

Case B enjoys no STEM bonus and no extremely high income, but by taking all three work-experience criteria, together with basic academic qualifications, age and language, it successfully clears the threshold.

Case C: Highly Paid Professional (8 criteria)

• Age 42 (Criterion 1)
• Bachelor of Laws and Doctor of Laws, University of Melbourne, Australia (Criteria 2 and 3, non-STEM)
• 16 years of work experience; partner at an international law firm; previously worked in Hong Kong, London and Singapore (Criterion 5; Criterion 7 international experience 8 years; Criterion 6 multinational 10 years)
• Languages: native English (Criterion 9), and holds HSK Level 6 of the Chinese Proficiency Test (Criterion 8)
• Last year’s income HK$4 million (Criterion 10)
  Criteria obtained: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 — 9 criteria in total, well beyond the bar.

This case shows that a native English speaker who also has verifiable Chinese ability can have a chance at securing both language criteria, and together with high income and international experience forms a highly robust combination.

Key Application Points and Document-Preparation Strategy

Unlike the former General Points Test, under the new mechanism “incomplete documents” directly results in non-acceptance rather than point deductions. Applicants must upload all relevant supporting documents together when submitting the application online. Common shortfalls are as follows:

• Academic certification: failure to provide the original or a certified copy of the degree certificate issued by a recognised university; an overseas degree lacking an accreditation report from the local evaluating body.
• Work proof: relying solely on a reference letter without proof of employment, tax documents or social-security records. Multinational experience must be backed by an organisational chart or the company’s annual report to substantiate overseas operations.
• Language proof: merely showing a pass in English on the school report card, without IELTS/TOEFL results or a formal medium-of-instruction letter, makes Criterion 9 hard to establish.
• Income proof: the HK$2.5 million income under Criterion 10 must be supported by documents issued by the Inland Revenue Department or a practising accountant; a salary letter from the employer is insufficient.

Beyond this, applicants should note that the Government has updated the “Talent List”, but the Talent List no longer provides bonus points as it once did; instead it is used by the Immigration Department for priority consideration during assessment. Applicants with a professional background listed on the Talent List, where document completeness is otherwise equal, have a relatively higher chance of approval (see the Immigration Department press release of 16 October 2024 for the relevant list of professions).

Legal Note and Conclusion

The new assessment mechanism has been running for several months, and from preliminary data published by the Immigration Department it is clear that application volume has slowed considerably compared with the past, while the quality of approved cases has visibly improved. Applicants must thoroughly abandon the old mindset of “submitting several criteria to accumulate points”, and instead match each of the 12 criteria precisely against their statutory requirements, self-assessing item by item and assembling the full set of supporting documents.

It must be emphasised that meeting 6 criteria merely signifies having “eligibility to apply”; whether approval is ultimately granted remains at the discretion of the Director of Immigration, exercised according to Hong Kong’s socio-economic needs. Applicants are advised to consult a lawyer familiar with immigration law before submission, or to carefully review the QMAS FAQ and the scheme page, which the Immigration Department updates from time to time, to ensure nothing is overlooked.

This article is for information reference only and does not constitute legal advice. Individual applicants’ circumstances vary, and independent professional advice should be sought where needed.