Opinion | Hong Kong must fix talent scheme as mainland Chinese ‘exam immigrants’ draw ire

Name: Hong Kong policy address: John Lee woos money, cuts liquor duty and regulates subdivided flats
Uploaded: 2025-08-03T08:30:09.000Z
Duration: 4 min 9 s
Description: Hong Kong policy address: John Lee woos money, cuts liquor duty and regulates subdivided flats

Tensions are rising as mainland Chinese exploit loopholes to get their children into Hong Kong’s education system

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The Hong Kong skyline at dusk on June 28. The city’s talent schemes give people who would like to give our city a try flexibility and convenience. But vetting and enforcement are crucial to counter exploitation. Photo: Reuters

Alice Wu

Published: 4:30pm, 3 Aug 2025Updated: 5:28pm, 3 Aug 2025

Last December, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said there were no loopholes in the city’s Top Talent Pass Scheme. We know leaders in Beijing have repeatedly asked this administration to be bold, but Sun’s claim of no administrative gaps might have been too bold. Given the complexities, no immigration policy can truly be flawless and airtight.

In the government’s attempt to make up for the outflow of people, it rolled out the Top Talent Pass Scheme in 2022. Since then, the city’s various talent admission schemes have received about 500,000 applications, of which 330,000 have been approved and 220,000 people have arrived.

The schemes are not without their flaws and former chief executive Leung Chun-ying has been a harsh critic. Leung, of course, wasn’t against the idea or its purpose but he questioned if the government had the manpower to properly review, vet and approve the applications. Vetting is crucial to avoid abuse in any immigration policy.

Leung said he had come across successful applicants who check into the city only to check out soon after: their aim is to take advantage of the benefits of their Hong Kong status, which allow for tax concessions and their children to study in Hong Kong or in mainland schools set up for Hong Kong children.

Sun said while not every successful candidate would eventually settle here, they did not take up Hong Kong’s welfare benefits. Even if they did come to check things out only to leave, we at least had them paying for room and board while here. He also brushed off concerns about successful applicants sending their dependants to school here.

But then last week happened. The Education Bureau announced that starting from the 2028-2029 academic year, children of non-local talent must have stayed in Hong Kong for at least two years before they can claim resident student benefits at publicly funded tertiary education institutions. This policy change aims to prevent abuse.

04:09

Hong Kong policy address: John Lee woos money, cuts liquor duty and regulates subdivided flats

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