Talent scheme criteria may be relaxed to lure more mainland workers

Staff reporters

The government is mulling a relaxation toward the criteria of the top talent pass scheme to attract more young talent in the mainland to migrate to Hong Kong, Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki said.

The two-year Top Talent Pass Scheme was raised by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in his maiden policy address in 2022, and launched in December 2022 for people abroad who earn more than HK$2.5 million annually, as well as those who graduated from the world's top 100 universities with at least three years of work experience over the previous five years.

In an interview with state news agency China News Agency, Chan said the administration is studying possibilities to open the scheme to applicants that are studying in faculties that are well-known around the globe.

"There are very good universities in the mainland which may not be in the top 100 universities in the world. We still want to open our door for them [to use the top talent pass scheme]," Chan said. "I hope more mainland youngsters seize the opportunity, as they will be very beneficial to Hong Kong's productivity and labor force."

As of the end of June, the government received almost 90,000 applications under the scheme and approved over 70,000 applications.

As for other talent schemes, the government has received over 340,000 applications as of the end of last month, with 210,000 applications approved and over 140,000 applicants having already arrived in Hong Kong. This would bring in HK$34 billion in direct economic benefit to the city per year - around 1.2 percent of the SAR's GDP, according to Chan.

"Talents are never enough. The more talent, the better for Hong Kong," Chan said. "We hope such talent may even choose to settle in with their families so that our population structure can be healthier as the aging population and low birth rate will affect the labor force."