New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme

The New CIES seeks to further enrich the talent pool and attract more new capital to Hong Kong. This will strengthen the development of our asset and wealth management business, financial services and related professional services.

* The New CIES does not apply to nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba and Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Eligibility Criteria

Subject to the terms of the New Scheme Rules, an Applicant who satisfies the following criteria will be eligible for applying for admission into Hong Kong for residence under the New CIES:

Age – aged 18 or above at the time of applying for net asset assessment to Invest Hong Kong (hereafter “InvestHK”);
Scope of the Scheme –
1. foreign nationalsNote1;
2. Chinese nationals who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country;
3. Macao Special Administrative Region residents; or
4. Chinese residents of Taiwan;
Net assets – applies for net asset assessment to InvestHK, i.e. demonstrating that he/she has net assets or net equity to which he/she is absolutely beneficially entitled with a market value of not less than HK$30 million Net (or equivalent in foreign currencies) throughout the two years preceding the date he/she lodged the application for net asset assessment;
Investment in permissible investment assets – makes investment of not less than HK$30 million Net (or equivalent in foreign currencies) in the permissible investment assets Note2 to which he/ she is absolutely beneficially entitled;
No adverse record – demonstrates that he/she has no adverse immigration record and meets normal immigration and security requirements; and
Others – demonstrates to the Director of Immigration that he/she is capable of supporting and accommodating himself/herself and his/her dependants, if any, on his/her own without relying on any return on the Permissible investment assets, employment, self-employment, office, business or public assistance in or carried on in Hong Kong as the case may be. In addition, the entry of dependants will be subject to any other policy applicable to such entry at the time.

Application Procedures

Before an applicant submits an entry application for visa/ permit under the New CIES to Immigration Department (“ImmD”), he/she is required to first approach InvestHK for verifying whether he/she has fulfilled the Net Asset Requirement. After InvestHK has verified and notified the applicant that he/she has fulfilled the Net Asset Requirement, InvestHK will issue a Certifying Proof for Fulfillment of Net Asset Requirement to the applicant. The applicant is then required to submit an entry application to ImmD within the validity period of the Certifying Proof for Fulfillment of Net Asset Requirement. If Approval-in-Principle is given after assessment from the immigration perspectives, ImmD will grant a visa/entry permit to the applicant for entering Hong Kong on visitor status for not more than 180 days for making the committed investment within the period.

Upon the applicant’s completion of the committed investment within the specified investment timeframe, an applicant is required to approach InvestHK for verifying whether he/she has fulfilled the Investment Requirements. Upon InvestHK’s verification that the applicant has fulfilled the Investment Requirements, InvestHK will issue a Certifying Proof for Fulfillment of Investment Requirements to the applicant. The applicant is required to provide the Certifying Proof for Fulfillment of Investment Requirements within its validity period to ImmD, which will in turn resume making assessment on the applicant’s entry application. Upon formal approval, permission to stay will normally be granted to the applicant and his/her dependants (if any) for not more than 24 months on time limitation only, subject to the condition that the applicant continues to satisfy the requirements of the Scheme throughout this period.

Engage a CPA

The applicant must engage a Certified Public Accountant as defined in the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council Ordinance (Cap. 588) at their own expense to assist in demonstrating the following:

Rule 4.2 and Rule 4.4 – Fulfillment of the net asset requirement
Rule 4.6 – Fulfillment of the investment requirements
Rule 6.2 – Fulfillment of the portfolio maintenance requirements

According to the definition of "net asset requirement" and Rule 4.2 of the Scheme Rules, the applicant must demonstrate that they have net assets or net equity of not less than HK$30 million (or equivalent in foreign currencies) and that they have absolute beneficial ownership of such assets during the two years preceding the submission of their application for Net Asset Assessment. Additionally, on the date of issuance of the Fulfillment document, the market value of the applicant's net assets must not be less than HK$30 million. No more than 14 calendar days may elapse between the date of issuance of the Fulfillment document and the date on which the applicant lodges their application for Net Asset Assessment. If the applicant fails to submit the application for Net Asset Assessment to the New CIES Office within 14 calendar days after the date of issuance of the Fulfillment document, a fresh Fulfillment document for Net Asset Assessment will generally be required.

During the preparation of the Fulfillment documents, the responsibilities of the applicant in demonstrating their fulfillment of the net asset requirement are as follows:

To provide a net assets statement showing information about the assets or equity they own and the related liabilities.
To provide originals/certified true photocopies of the assets or equity and their liabilities.
For assets not traded on a public exchange, to provide a written valuation report from a valuer.
To ensure that no more than 14 calendar days may elapse between the date of issuance of the Fulfillment document and the date the applicant lodges their application for net asset assessment.
If the Fulfillment document submitted by the applicant is considered out of date by InvestHK, InvestHK has the right to request the applicant to submit an updated Fulfillment document.

Net Asset Requirement, Investment Requirements and Portfolio Maintenance Requirements

Apart from the existing holding method, an Applicant can also hold his investment in a private company, fostering synergy between the Scheme and the establishment of family offices in Hong Kong. The private company is required to fulfill the following conditions during the entire six months preceding the date the Applicant lodged his application for assessment on Investment Requirements –
- incorporated or registered in Hong Kong
- wholly owned by the Applicant/Entrant
- only holds Permissible investment assets
- in the form of Family-owned Investment Holding Vehicle (FIHV), or Family-owned Special Purpose Entity under an FIHV, where the FIHV has at least two full-time employees in Hong Kong and incurs at least HK$2 million operating expenditure annually in Hong Kong to carry out the activities of FIHV
- managed by an Eligible Single Family Office of the Applicant/Entrant’s family which manages assets specified under Schedule 16C to the Inland Revenue Ordinance for the FIHV(s) of the family with an aggregate Net asset value of not less than HK$240 million.