Eligible universities for HK’s talent scheme increase to 200, effective Jan 1

The government announced on Sunday that the annually updated aggregate list of eligible universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) will increase from 199 to 200 due to changes in university rankings, effective January 1. 

The updated list adds five universities, including the Adelaide University in Australia, the University of Vienna in Austria, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany, the Politecnico di Milano in Italy, and the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals in Saudi Arabia. 

Meanwhile, the Ecole Polytechnique, Université Grenoble Alpes, Universite Sorbonne Paris Cite-USPC and the University of Freiburg have been removed from the list. Bachelor’s degree graduates of these four institutions will no longer be eligible to apply under Categories B and C of the scheme starting January 1, 2026. 

The TTPS aims to attract three categories of talent. Category A includes individuals with annual income reaching HK$2.5 million or above in the year prior to applying. 

Category B targets those who have received a full-time bachelor’s degree from one of the eligible universities or institutions with at least three years of work experience within five years before applying. 

Category C is for full-time bachelor’s degree graduates of eligible universities or institutions in the past five years immediately preceding the date of application with less than three years of work experience.