Policy Address

Attract and Retain Talents

57. The Government will endeavour to trawl for and retain talents. We will:

  1. establish the physical office of the Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE) – Following the launch of the online platform for the HKTE last year, a physical office will be established by the end of this month. The office will provide support for incoming talents and follow up with their development and needs after arrival. In 2024, we will organise a "Global Talent Summit cum Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area High-quality Talent Development Conference" to promote regional exchange and co-operation in talent attraction;

  2. expand the coverage of universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme – To expand the network for attracting global talents, we will add eight top-notch institutions from the Mainland and overseas to the list of eligible universities under the scheme, making a total of 184 institutions, with effect from November;

  3. relax visa requirements – Starting from today, we will relax the visa policy in respect of employment for Vietnamese talents and the criteria for Vietnamese applying for "multiple-entry visas" for business and travel. We will also relax the visa policy for Laotian and Nepalese talents for employment, training and study in University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded institutions;

  4. implement the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme – Under the scheme, eligible investors who make investments of $30 million or above in assets such as stocks, funds, bonds, etc. (excluding real estate) can apply for entry into Hong Kong. This will strengthen the development of our asset and wealth management business, financial services and related professional services. Details of the scheme will be announced by the end of this year; and

  5. the Vocational Professionals Admission Scheme – To alleviate the manpower shortage in skilled trades, starting from the 2024/25 admission cohort, non-local students of designated full-time professional Higher Diploma programmes of the Vocational Training Council (VTC) will be allowed to stay in Hong Kong for one year after graduation to seek jobs relevant to their disciplines. This pilot arrangement will be reviewed after two years.