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.
Investment routes
Fixed capital
From $3 830 000
- Capital
- Refundable
A minimum investment of HKD 30 million (about 3.83 million USD): at least HKD 27 million in permissible financial assets and non-residential real estate (real estate counts up to HKD 10 million), plus HKD 3 million placed in a new CIES Investment Portfolio. Residential property is not an eligible asset, and you must first prove net assets of at least HKD 30 million held over the two preceding years.
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.