TTPS Dependant Visa: Spouses, Children Under 18, Parents

Introduction

Since its launch on 28 December 2022, the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) has brought a large number of high-income and highly educated talents to Hong Kong. A core concern for approved TTPS holders is the arrangement for family members to accompany them. The Hong Kong Immigration Department has a clear definition of dependants: spouses and children under 18 may come to Hong Kong immediately as dependants, but parents are not included within this framework. This article consolidates the latest policy provisions, approval data and alternative visa routes to build a visa strategy for TTPS families covering spouses, children and parents, ensuring the lawful residence and care of the family unit in Hong Kong are smoothly connected.

TTPS Dependant Visa Framework: Immediate Accompaniment by Spouses and Children

The TTPS allows approved applicants to bring their spouses and unmarried and dependent children under 18 to reside in Hong Kong as sponsors. According to the Immigration Department’s “Guide on Entry for Residence as Dependants” (ID(E) 982), where the sponsor is a person permitted to work or invest in Hong Kong, the following dependants may apply to reside in Hong Kong: (i) his/her spouse; and (ii) his/her unmarried and dependent children under 18. This guide further provides that the limit of stay for dependants is generally tied to the sponsor’s limit of stay. Therefore, spouses and children are first granted a period of stay of two or three years (depending on the category of application) — the same as the TTPS holder — and upon expiry may apply for an extension of stay, and after being ordinarily resident in Hong Kong for seven years may apply to verify their status as Hong Kong permanent residents. Applications must be submitted using the dedicated forms ID(E) 990A (sponsor) and ID(E) 990B (dependant), together with documents such as proof of relationship, evidence of financial capacity and accommodation arrangements. The Immigration Department’s assessment criteria emphasise that the sponsor must be capable of providing the dependants with a standard of living in Hong Kong substantially higher than the basic level.

Once the spouse is granted a dependant visa, they automatically enjoy the “relaxation of dependants’ right to work” policy implemented by the Hong Kong SAR Government in October 2023. This policy removes the previous restriction requiring dependants to obtain prior permission from the Director of Immigration before taking up employment; the spouse may work or change jobs freely without a separate application. This greatly enhances the economic flexibility of TTPS families in Hong Kong and serves as one of the key incentives for attracting TTPS talent to stay in Hong Kong. A child’s visa entitles them to enrol in local public and private schools, and some aided schools also offer school places to children holding a dependant visa.

The Dilemma of Parents’ Visas: A Special Category Not Covered by the Definition of Dependants

The scope of dependants under the TTPS does not include parents. The Immigration Department’s dependant policy draws a clear line — only the sponsor’s spouse and children under 18 are eligible to apply for a dependant visa. Even if parents are entirely financially dependent on the sponsor, they cannot follow the TTPS sponsor to settle in Hong Kong as dependants. This restriction stems from the two-tier dependant framework established by the Immigration Ordinance and related immigration regulations: the first tier comprises core family members (spouse and children) accompanying a working or investing sponsor; the second tier comprises lineal relatives such as parents and grandparents sponsored by a Hong Kong permanent resident or a person not subject to a limit of stay. A TTPS sponsor belongs only to the first tier and cannot cross into the second.

If parents wish to live with their children in Hong Kong for an extended period, they must find another visa route. The currently viable options are mainly the following:

• Apply to enter Hong Kong as a visitor (commonly known as a family-visit visa). Each entry is normally granted a stay of 90 days, after which they must leave the territory and may reapply where circumstances reasonably permit;
• If the parents hold residence status or a passport from another country, they may consider applying for an independent visa as an investor or worker, though the threshold is extremely high and it is rarely used in practice;
• Wait until the sponsor becomes a Hong Kong permanent resident, then apply for the parents to settle in Hong Kong through the One-way Permit system; this route involves a long waiting period.

Therefore, TTPS families must adopt a tiered design in their visa strategy: spouses and children achieve immediate reunion through the dependant visa, while parents rely on frequent and compliant visitor visas to maintain short-term residence, and simultaneously lay out the seven-year transition period to permanent residency, preparing for ultimate family reunion.

Strategy 1: Maintaining Residence and Care in Hong Kong in the Short Term through Visitor Visas

For those already approved under the TTPS, the most direct way for parents is to travel to and from Hong Kong under the arrangement of “entry as a visitor”. According to the Immigration Department’s “Entry Arrangements for Visitors / Travellers”, mainland visitors must hold a Mainland Residents’ Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao with a valid endorsement; each entry may be granted a stay of up to 90 days, and after expiry they must leave Hong Kong before the days of stay can be recalculated. This mechanism allows TTPS families to adopt a rhythmic arrangement: parents come to Hong Kong in batches each year, coordinating with the visa expiry dates, to ensure they can assist with looking after grandchildren or share household duties for most of the time.

However, visitor visas carry certain rigid restrictions: visitors may not work in Hong Kong, may not switch to another visa category without permission, and frequent entries may draw the Immigration Department’s attention to visa abuse. In practice, Immigration Department officers review a visitor’s overall travel records and purpose of stay in Hong Kong; if they find deliberate avoidance of departure rules or an intention to settle long term, they have the right to refuse re-entry or shorten the stay. Therefore, the integrated strategy must include a rigorous stay plan: it is advisable that the interval between each entry be at least equal to the period of stay, and that departure flight tickets and hotel proof be retained for inspection.

If the parents’ health requires long-term care in Hong Kong, they may consider applying for an extension of stay, but such applications are generally limited to special humanitarian reasons, such as needing to accompany an ailing child or deal with a family emergency. The Immigration Department takes a conservative stance on extending visitor stays, and successful cases are mostly very short-term extensions. TTPS families should therefore treat the visitor visa as a transitional aid rather than a long-term solution.

Strategy 2: One-way Permit Planning after the Sponsor’s Status Changes in the Medium to Long Term

If a TTPS holder has been ordinarily resident in Hong Kong for seven years, they may apply to the Immigration Department to verify their permanent resident status. Once a permanent resident identity card is issued, the sponsor’s qualification is upgraded from the first tier (working/investing person) to the second tier (permanent resident), at which point they may apply for a dependant visa for their parents to settle in Hong Kong, or apply for their parents to settle in Hong Kong through the “Permit for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao” (commonly known as the One-way Permit) scheme administered by mainland public security authorities.

The One-way Permit system has a daily quota of 150 places, approved by mainland authorities who decide the allocation priority. The category for parents to reunite in Hong Kong requires the child to already be a Hong Kong permanent resident and proof that the applicant has no other children on the mainland to care for them. Generally, the waiting period is about three to six years, depending on the backlog of applications and the processing speed of each province. After the permanent resident status is approved, the sponsor must first complete the “Verification of Eligibility for Permanent Identity Card” procedure, then apply to the Immigration Department for the “Application for Entry and Exit” (ID 88B) as prior approval for the parents’ dependant visa, or simultaneously initiate the One-way Permit process. The main difference between the two is: the dependant visa is approved by the Hong Kong Immigration Department, allowing parents to reside in Hong Kong first and then apply for permanent residency under the seven-year rule; the One-way Permit is approved by the mainland, and once parents obtain it they come to Hong Kong to settle directly and immediately acquire Hong Kong resident status. Strategically, if the parents are of advanced age, priority may be given to applying via the dependant visa route to shorten the overall period of separation.

It is worth noting that a TTPS sponsor cannot submit any dependant visa application for parents before becoming a permanent resident, and any submission will be returned. Therefore, the complete family timeline must be: for the first seven years, parents stay in Hong Kong intermittently as visitors; after the seventh year, the sponsor obtains permanent residency and immediately initiates the parents’ dependant visa or One-way Permit application, ultimately achieving family reunion in Hong Kong.

Key Figures and Processing Timelines: The Actual Scale of TTPS Families

The scale of family migration triggered by the TTPS can be seen from official data. According to a press release issued by the Labour and Welfare Bureau on 13 June 2024 (Top Talent Pass Scheme achieves remarkable results 18 months after launch), as at end of May 2024, the TTPS had received over 320,000 applications, approved about 200,000 visas, of which the number of dependant visas approved reached about 140,000. By conversion, on average each TTPS sponsor brings about 0.7 dependants, showing a very high density of family accompaniment. Over the same period, the combined number of approved sponsors and dependants who actually arrived in Hong Kong exceeded 130,000, having a significant impact on Hong Kong’s population structure and housing demand.

On processing speed, the Immigration Department undertakes to complete TTPS applications within four weeks of receiving all documents; dependant visa processing times are generally in step with the main applicant or two to three weeks later. However, from early 2024, application volumes surged and the processing time for some cases was extended to six to eight weeks. Visitor visas related to parents are still approved within a few working days, though frequent renewals and cross-boundary passenger flows may lead to increased questioning at control points. For the One-way Permit and dependant visas (after permanent residency), there is no official standard for processing time; dependant visas are generally completed within three months, while the One-way Permit waiting period is counted in years, and applicants must be fully prepared both mentally and financially.

Common Misconceptions and Legal Risks

TTPS families easily fall into four common misconceptions when consolidating visas:

1. Mistakenly treating parents as dependants in the application – If a TTPS sponsor wrongly lists parents as dependants in application form ID(E) 990A, the entire application will be voided, and it may even delay the approval of the main visa.
2. Staying in Hong Kong long term as a visitor and maliciously circumventing departure rules – If parents actually reside in Hong Kong for more than half a year through continuous “back-and-forth” trips, each covered by a 90-day endorsement, the Immigration Department has the right, under section 11 of the Immigration Ordinance, to treat them as unauthorised habitual residents, refuse re-entry, and leave an adverse record on file.
3. Misunderstanding the conversion mechanism between the One-way Permit and the dependant visa – Some applicants believe they can synchronously apply for a One-way Permit for their parents during the TTPS period, but the premise of that scheme is that the sponsor is already a Hong Kong permanent resident; early submission will not be accepted.
4. Ignoring the consistency of the sponsor’s income threshold over time – Approval and extension of a dependant visa both depend on the sponsor’s financial capacity. If the sponsor’s income fluctuates significantly during the seven-year period, it will not only affect their own TTPS extension but also create difficulties when applying for a parents’ dependant visa later. The Immigration Department will require the sponsor to submit tax documents from past years to prove their sustained ability to support the parents.

The various visa strategies described in this article are based on Immigration Department policies and public data as at June 2024; individual applications may differ due to legislative amendments or the Director of Immigration’s discretion. Before formal submission, applicants should read the relevant legal provisions carefully or consult a licensed professional adviser.

Conclusion

The integration of TTPS family visas hinges on recognising the boundaries of the dependant system: spouses and children under 18 enjoy immediate reunion as well as flexibility in employment and education; parents, however, must be incorporated into a composite plan spanning seven years — maintaining short- to medium-term contact as visitors, then completing the ultimate goal through the post-permanent-residency family reunion mechanism. Combined with the real scale of over 140,000 dependant approvals, this strategy both reflects policy reality and sustains the family’s caregiving function. Only by mastering the correct visa timeline and avoiding common legal risks can one build a solid blueprint for family residence in Hong Kong.

This article is for informational reference only and does not constitute legal advice. Visa applications should be based on the latest guidelines and legislation published by the Immigration Department.