Hong Kong New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES)
- Processing time
- 4–8 months
- Physical presence
- The visa is renewable and the investment must be maintained. Permanent residence is not automatic: it requires seven years of continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong, which means genuinely living there, not just holding the visa.
- Family
- The principal applicant can bring a spouse and unmarried dependent children under 18.
See the investment routes and what each one really costs →
Limits and drawbacks
- This is residence, not a passport. Permanent residence requires seven years of continuous ordinary residence — genuinely living in Hong Kong — and the investment must be held throughout.
- Residential property does not count. Only non-residential real estate qualifies, and it counts toward at most HKD 10 million; the bulk must sit in financial assets exposed to market risk.
- You must first pass a net-asset test of at least HKD 30 million held over the two preceding years, so the real bar is wealth well above the headline HKD 30 million investment.
- Hong Kong’s autonomy, rule-of-law trajectory and political climate are factors to weigh — this is a decision about more than tax.
What it gets you
- Access to a major global financial centre with deep, liquid markets
- Territorial tax: salaries tax capped at 17%, no capital gains tax, no VAT, no tax on dividends or interest
- A flexible portfolio — equities, bonds, funds and non-residential property all qualify
- A clear path to permanent residence after seven years of ordinary residence