Programme overview
The New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme is the revival, after a nine-year hiatus, of Hong Kong’s residency-by-investment route. The original 2003 scheme was suspended in January 2015; the new programme launched on 1 March 2024 with a meaningfully tighter investment quantum (HKD 30M up from HKD 10M in the legacy scheme) and a deliberately narrow asset universe — financial assets and a mandatory contribution to a sovereign wealth-style fund managed by the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited.
Real estate was conspicuously excluded at launch. That changed on 16 October 2024, when the Financial Secretary reintroduced a capped property component to support the softening high-end property market. As of the most recent measure (effective 1 March 2026), applicants may also hold their permissible investments through a private holding company or Family-owned Investment Holding Vehicle (FIHV) — a structural flexibility that materially helps multi-generation planning.
Demand has been strong: by mid-2025 the scheme had attracted over HKD 95 billion in committed capital, with applicants concentrated in mainland China, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
Investment routes
A single capital quantum, two pots — total HKD 30 million.
HKD 27 million — Permissible Investment Assets. Allocated across one or more of: equities listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (in HKD or RMB); debt securities including HKSAR Government bonds, exchange fund notes, and bonds of statutory bodies; certificates of deposit issued by HK-licensed banks (max 10% of the HKD 27M); eligible collective investment schemes including SFC-authorised funds, OFCs, and private equity funds; ownership stakes in non-listed Hong Kong companies (limited partnerships).
Real estate sub-cap of HKD 10 million within the HKD 27M. Counts toward the asset side but ceiling-capped. Eligible: non-residential commercial property, and (since 16 October 2024) residential property with a transaction price of at least HKD 50 million — only the equity portion contributes (mortgage value excluded), and only up to HKD 10 million of the property’s value is recognised.
HKD 3 million — CIES Investment Portfolio. Mandatory subscription into a ring-fenced portfolio managed by the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC), the city’s sovereign-style investment vehicle. Used to channel capital into strategic industries — innovation & technology, life-health, new-energy materials. Held for the full residency period; not redeemable on exit.
Net-worth gate: applicants must demonstrate absolute beneficial ownership of HKD 30 million in net assets continuously for the six months prior to application. Joint holdings with family members count proportionally.
Tax architecture
Hong Kong’s tax system is the headline appeal alongside the residency. The territory operates a strict territorial-source regime — only Hong Kong-sourced income is taxable. There is no capital gains tax, no dividend withholding tax, no estate duty, no GST/VAT, and no general wealth or inheritance tax.
Salaries tax on Hong Kong-sourced employment income runs progressively from 2% to 17%, capped by an alternative standard rate of 15% on net income (16% above HKD 5M under the two-tier standard rate from 2024/25). Profits tax on corporate Hong Kong- source income is 8.25% on the first HKD 2 million and 16.5% above. Property tax on rental income is 15% on net assessable value.
For CIES applicants relocating, the practical tax positioning is: keep offshore investment portfolios offshore (no HK tax on foreign dividends, interest, or gains absent a HK trade), maintain HK-source income transparency, and use the absence of inheritance tax to support direct generational transfer. Hong Kong has tax treaties with around 50 jurisdictions, useful for principals with assets in mainland China, the UK, or continental Europe.
What it gets you
A two-year visa to enter and reside in Hong Kong, extendable in three-year tranches on demonstration that investments remain in qualifying assets. After seven years of continuous ordinary residence, eligibility for the Right of Abode and a HKSAR passport — which confers visa-free access to roughly 170 jurisdictions and unique business mobility into mainland China.
There is no minimum-stay requirement to keep the CIES visa active, but the seven-year residency for PR requires demonstrating Hong Kong as the principal place of life — historically interpreted as physical presence of around 180 days per year on average, plus other indicia (housing, family base, tax residency).
Spouse and dependent children under 18 join on the principal’s application. Education access — public schools, the Hong Kong international school circuit — is unrestricted. Banking access is the easiest in Asia for high-net-worth individuals; corporate formation through a HK Limited is fast and inexpensive.
Our role on a Hong Kong file
A CIES file is a coordination exercise across an InvestHK relationship manager, a Hong Kong-licensed asset manager (or HKIC for the mandatory portfolio component), the Immigration Department, and — for files above HKD 50M committing to property — HK property counsel and a HK retail bank. We sit at the centre: financial-asset allocation aligned to the HKD 27M sub-buckets, HKIC subscription mechanics for the HKD 3M, optional FIHV structuring for multi-generation files, and the residency application itself. Most files clear in 8–10 months end-to-end. Renewal counselling is then a 30-month conversation, not a one-off — the seven-year ordinary residence arc is what the file is ultimately built for.