Hong Kong — FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does CIES give a passport?
No. CIES grants residence. A Hong Kong permanent identity card, and later an HKSAR passport, require seven years of continuous ordinary residence — genuinely living there — not just holding the investment visa.
Can I use residential property for the investment?
No. Residential property is not a permissible asset. Only financial assets and non-residential real estate qualify, and real estate counts toward at most HKD 10 million of the HKD 30 million.
Will Hong Kong tax my foreign income?
Generally no. Hong Kong is strictly territorial and taxes only Hong Kong-source income, with salaries tax capped at 17% and no capital gains tax. It does not remove obligations to a country that taxes on citizenship, such as the United States.
What does it really cost?
The official minimum is $3 830 000, through the cheapest of its 1 route. Counting government, due-diligence and legal fees, a family of four should budget around $5 113 050. The advertised figure is never the figure you pay.
How long does it take?
The programme announces 4–8 months. That is the official figure, not a commitment.
Who can I include in the application?
The principal applicant can bring a spouse and unmarried dependent children under 18.
Which investment routes exist?
One route: Capital transfer.
Do I get the money back?
The cheapest route is recoverable, subject to market value. Recoverable is not risk-free.
Which assets count towards the threshold?
The routes table shows Capital transfer. The same threshold also admits real estate — one bar to clear, several ways to clear it. That distinction changes how the money is structured, and most comparison sites miss it entirely.
What do you actually do for me?
We accompany the whole procedure, residency in Hong Kong included, with one person on your side from start to finish. On the ground we work through an established service and its contacts, and we introduce partners we have tested — law firms, licensed agents, banks — instead of leaving you to find them. It starts with a short qualifying call: tell us your situation and we come back to you with a slot.
How we work
Are you an agent or an intermediary?
We are not the programme unit and we do not file your application for you — licensed agents do that, and we introduce you to ones we have tested. What we do is document the programmes against official sources, then walk the procedure with you: eligibility, the route that fits, the file, the follow-up, with one person on your side throughout.
What does the accompaniment cover?
Every citizenship and residency procedure on the jurisdictions documented here — not a shortlist we happen to sell. We start from your situation and your constraints, not from a catalogue, and if the honest answer is that none of them fits, that is what you get.
Do you have anyone on the ground?
Yes — in each of these places we work through an established service and its contacts: licensed agents, law firms, banks, developers where property is involved. You deal with one person on our side; they open the doors and stay accountable for what they introduced.
How does it start?
With a short qualifying call — twenty to thirty minutes to understand your nationality, your family, your timeline and your budget, and to say which routes are genuinely open to you. It is not a sales call. If you would rather write, leave a message and we come back with a slot that suits you.
Where do your figures come from?
Every figure carries at least one official government source and the date we last checked it. A figure backed only by a law firm or the trade press does not qualify — you will find the sources at the bottom of each page.
Why do you publish two processing times?
Because the announced figure and the observed figure often differ, sometimes by a year. Saint Lucia announces 90 days; practitioners report 14 to 24 months. Publishing only the official number would repeat a sales claim; publishing only the observed one would not be verifiable. We attribute both.
How often are the pages rechecked?
Each page shows its own verification date. Programmes change without notice, so treat any figure older than a few months as a starting point for your own check, not as settled fact.
What do you do when the sources disagree?
We publish the disagreement rather than pick a side. You will see what the official text says, what practitioners report, what remains unestablished, and who to ask. A reader committing several hundred thousand has the right to know a point is disputed.
Is this legal or tax advice?
No. It is general information, verified and dated. Official conditions prevail, and your own situation may change the answer entirely. Consult a licensed professional before deciding anything.
A question that is not here?
Ask it. We answer with sources, or we tell you the point is not settled.
Freedom. Anywhere.
Find my programme
What we do for you
Citizenship or residence, the honest answer often is not the one you arrived with. We take the whole procedure with you — eligibility, the route that fits your situation, the file, the follow-up — with one person on your side throughout.
For Hong Kong specifically, you are talking to someone who already knows the file: who to speak to on the ground, what the unit actually asks for, and the points where applications stall.
- One point of contact, from the first call to the certificate
- Vetted partners on the ground — law firms, licensed agents, banks — introduced, not listed
- It starts with a short qualifying call, and no, it is not a sales call
Prefer to write? Leave us a message and we come back with a slot that suits you.