Hong Kong reveals plan to attract global talents: 10 points

Here are the key takeaways from the announcement from John Lee, the chief executive of Hong Kong.

The Talents Service Unit, which will be Hong Kong's one-stop shop and work in conjunction with the Immigration Department to process applications received under the talent admission programmes and provide support services, will be established soon.

Let’s have a look at the key takeaways from the announcement.

The number of local employees in Hong Kong has decreased by around 140 000 during the last two years. Now, it will actively "trawl the world" for talent in addition to actively developing and keeping local talent.
The Top Talent Pass Scheme will be introduced in Hong Kong for a two-year period. Those with yearly salaries of HK$2.5 million (around ₹2.6 crore) or more and graduates from one of the top 100 colleges in the world with at least three years of work experience over the previous five years are considered eligible talents.
These two talent categories are exempt from quotas and will be given a two-year pass to explore opportunities in Hong Kong. Subject to an annual quota of 10,000, graduates of the top 100 colleges in the world who have not yet completed the required work experience will also be eligible. After the first year of operation, the plan will be evaluated.
Hong Kong will simplify policies so that employers are not required to provide evidence to support their difficulties in local recruitment when making applications for talent admission for vacancies falling under the 13 professions with shortage of local supply as listed in the Talent List or for vacancies with annual salary of HK$2 million or above.
Hong Kong aims to finish the Talent List in the first quarter of 2023 and will update it as soon as feasible to reflect the most recent scarcity scenario in various professions. In order to entice more top-tier talent to migrate to Hong Kong, it will suspend the yearly quota under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) for a two-year term and enhance the approval procedure.
Hong Kong will ease the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG) by extending the maximum stay from one year to two years to make it easier for them to remain in or travel to Hong Kong for work. Additionally, the arrangements will be expanded to include graduates of the GBA campus of a Hong Kong university on a trial basis for a two-year period. After the first year of operation, the pilot arrangement will be evaluated.
The government would remove the requirement that technology companies hire more local workers while bringing in talent from outside Hong Kong in order to speed up talent entry.
Hong Kong will increase the duration of employment visas, allowing those who have been accepted under one of the city's several talent-admittance programmes and who have found employment to be awarded visas that can last up to three years.
Additionally, it will reimburse eligible inbound talents for the additional stamp duty they incurred when buying residential property in Hong Kong. The Buyer's Stamp Duty and the New Residential Stamp Duty paid for the first residential property purchased that they still own may be refunded to eligible talents who purchase a residential property in Hong Kong starting today and afterward and subsequently become a permanent resident after living in Hong Kong for seven years.
For more visitors taking part in short-term activities in Hong Kong, the necessity to apply for an employment visa will be waived. It will look into extending the arrangements to new categories in addition to currently specified areas like technology experts and professional athletes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sounak Mukhopadhyay

Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and social media. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer.