Policy Address

Post-secondary Institutions

Relax Restrictions on Admission of Self-financing Students

137. Universities in Hong Kong are highly popular, with a double-digit year-on-year increase in the number of self-financing non-local applicants. The Government currently provides 15 000 funded places for local students. This number will not be reduced, ensuring the current enrolment situation of local students in subsidised programmes remains unchanged. On the other hand, the number of non-funded places for non-local students to study in Hong Kong on a self-financing basis will be permitted to increase. Starting from the 2026/27 academic year, the enrolment ceiling for self-financing non-local students of each funded post-secondary institution will be raised from the level currently equivalent to 40% of local student places to 50%; and the over-enrolment ceiling of self-financing places of funded research postgraduate programmes will be increased from 100% to 120%.

Increase Student Hostel Supply

138. The Government launched the Hostels in the City Scheme in July to facilitate the market in converting existing commercial buildings (including hotels) into student hostels by obviating the need for rezoning and allowing excessive plot ratio be retained. Effective today, apart from cases involving the conversion of commercial buildings, cases involving redevelopment of original commercial buildings into new student hostels can also enjoy the facilitation measures under the scheme, including retaining excessive plot ratio. The Government will also earmark new sites (zoned as commercial or otherwise) this year for building new hostels, and will invite the market to submit expressions of interest.