Hong Kong’s 2026 New CIES Programme Explained

0:08If you're considering Hong Kong through

0:10investment, then you've probably heard

0:12of the new capital investment entrance

0:14scheme, commonly [music] known as the

0:16new CIS program. Hi, my name is Felicity

0:19and I'm a parallegal here at Harvey Law

0:21Group. The new CIS program allows

0:24[music] eligible individuals to obtain

0:26Hong Kong residency by making a

0:29qualifying investment rather [music]

0:30than through employment or starting a

0:33business. Since the program was

0:35introduced, the Hong Kong government has

0:37continually [music] refined its

0:39requirements. Most recently, a number of

0:42legal amendments were introduced [music]

0:44to simplify the application process and

0:48make the program more flexible for

0:50eligible investors. while maintaining

0:52its core [music]

0:53legal and investment requirements. These

0:56changes have naturally raised a [music]

0:58number of questions from prospective

1:00applicants. So, let's go through some

1:02[music] of the most common ones

1:04together.

1:08The Hong Kong New Capital Investment

1:11Entrance Scheme Visa, commonly known as

1:13the new [music] CIS visa, is the

1:15equivalent of an investor visa that

1:18allows qualified [music]

1:19individuals and their family members,

1:21such as their spouse and children obtain

1:23[music] residency in Hong Kong through

1:26making a qualifying investment that does

1:29not rely on starting a business or being

1:32employed.

1:36The total [music] cost of investment

1:38into the whole program is $30 million

1:40Hong Kong dollars. This is [music] split

1:42into $27 million put into qualifying

1:46assets [music] that you will own by

1:48yourself and $3 million Hong Kong

1:50dollars put into a government investment

1:52managed portfolio.

1:57Eligible investors [music] include

1:59foreign nationals, Chinese nationals

2:02with a foreign permanent residency,

2:03[music]

2:04Macau and Taiwanese residents.

2:07Applicants must be over 18 years of age,

2:09hold a clean immigration record, and

2:12have no prior convictions. [music]

2:14They must also be financially sufficient

2:16without relying on the investment made

2:18[music] to the new capital investment

2:21entrance scheme program. However, the

2:24scheme is currently [music] not

2:25available to nationals of Cuba,

2:28Afghanistan, or the Democratic People's

2:31Republic of Korea.

2:36The biggest change [music] that came in

2:382025 was the asset holding period. It

2:41was previously [music]

2:422 years to prove you held the net assets

2:45eligible to make the 30 million Hong

2:47Kong dollar investment. That has now

2:49been [music] cut to 6 months. And you

2:52may also use familypulled assets such as

2:55[music] your spouse or your parents.

2:58Another big key change was being [music]

3:00able to incorporate brand new holding

3:03companies as part of the investment

3:05vehicle which was previously [music] not

3:06allowed combined with the new

3:09streamlined application process which is

3:11now currently done [music] online to

3:13make the whole process faster and

3:15smoother.

3:18Property purchases are [music]

3:20eligible as part of the investment

3:23portfolio. However, their [music]

3:25contribution towards the final

3:27investment portfolio can be capped at

3:29either 10 million Hong Kong dollars or

3:3215 million Hong Kong dollars depending

3:34on the property. [music] But there are

3:36many other assets in which you can

3:38purchase and invest. Alternative

3:40products that can make up [music] an

3:41individual's investment portfolio

3:43include equities and debt securities

3:45[music] available on the stock exchange

3:48in Hong Kong, subordinated debt, [music]

3:50eligible collective investment schemes,

3:53and limited partnership funds as [music]

3:55well as certificates of deposits.

4:00Hong Kong is renown for its low tax

4:03rate, and this certainly applies for all

4:06[music] new CIES visa holders. There are

4:09no capital gains tax and no dividend tax

4:12for almost all residents, which means

4:14your portfolio [music]

4:16grows untaxed.

4:20There is no top up required if your

4:22[music] investment loses value while

4:24it's being held in your new capital

4:26investment entrance scheme account.

4:29[music] That means capital gains are

4:31locked in. You may withdraw cash

4:33dividends or interests at [music] any

4:36time from your account. Furthermore,

4:38you're allowed to reinvest, [music]

4:40sell, and switch up the assets in the

4:43investment portfolio during the holding

4:45period.

4:49At the moment, [music] there is no

4:52minimum stay required to renew the

4:54investor visa. However, new CIS [music]

4:57holders who have a continuous period of

5:00ordinary residency in Hong Kong [music]

5:02for 7 years do qualify for permanent

5:05residency. If you don't meet the minimum

5:08ordinary residency [music] requirements,

5:11you are still eligible for unconditional

5:13stay in Hong Kong after [music] the

5:15seven years.

5:19New CIES [music]

5:20visa holders are able to do almost

5:22anything a Hong Kong resident can within

5:25limits. [music] New CIS visa holders are

5:27able to join a business, start [music] a

5:30business, or find gainful employment.

5:33Their dependents are also subject to the

5:35same things. Spouses can find a job or

5:39start a business. And your dependent

5:41children are also able to live and study

5:43in Hong Kong.

5:47After the initial document collection

5:48process, it can [music] take up to 1 to

5:50two months for our accountant to

5:53complete the net asset application after

5:55which [music] it gets submitted to the

5:57new capital investment scheme office for

6:00approval. Following an approval, [music]

6:02you are able to apply for a visa in

6:05principle which allows the eligible

6:07individual to hold 180 days [music] visa

6:10in principle approval allowing you to

6:13come to Hong Kong and make [music] the

6:15required investments after which the

6:17investments are submitted again to the

6:19new CIS office which we can then help

6:22you to apply for a 2-year [music]

6:24residency visa. In total, it can take 6

6:27to 7 months after document collection

6:30for [music] you to get your 2-year new

6:32CIS visa. Thank you for watching and if

6:36you're looking for any information,

6:37[music] please visit our website

6:39harveawcorporation.com.