Hong Kong Capital Investment Entrant Scheme: the net assets you prove and the money you invest are two different tests

The scheme tests your money twice: net worth at the figure above, held for the six months before you apply and counted after every mortgage, then an investment of the same size. A tenth of that investment goes into a portfolio overseen by the Hong Kong Investment Corporation, locked up, with no guarantee of your capital.

Passing the first test says nothing about passing the second. The net asset test counts what you own at market value, minus every mortgage, lien or charge on it, and only your own share of anything held jointly with family; assets shared with business partners do not count. The investment test then asks for the same figure placed in assets the scheme permits, and the rules bar funding the financial assets by borrowing against them.

Where the investment has to go

• Nine-tenths, at least, in permissible financial assets, such as listed shares, debt securities, certificates of deposit and eligible funds, or in real estate.
• Real estate, for purchases completed from 17 September 2025, counts up to half the figure above. Residential property counts up to a third of it. A single home counts only if it is priced at or above the full figure shown above. Earlier purchases face a lower cap and a higher price floor, and residential purchases count only if completed on or after 16 October 2024.
• One-tenth goes into the scheme's own investment portfolio, overseen by the Hong Kong Investment Corporation. Capital and dividends are not guaranteed, and the money is locked up. For applications received by 31 December 2025 and later approved, the corporation's 2025 batch, the lock-up is seven years from 1 January 2026; later batches get their own terms.

Before you commit to a flat for this scheme, check its price against that single-property floor.

The timetable

The six months of net assets run back from the day you apply for the net asset assessment. Investments made up to 180 days before that application count. The rest must be in place within 180 days of approval in principle, while you are in Hong Kong as a visitor. You then have to stay invested. A certified public accountant, paid by you, confirms the investment, and again after each anniversary of formal approval.

Who is paid what

The Immigration Department charges the fee shown above, an application fee and a visa issuance fee together, plus separate fees for any dependants and for the first entry as a visitor. The accountant's reports, the financial intermediary's charges for holding and reporting on the assets, and any agent's fee go to firms, not to the government.

Questions for the intermediary or agent:

1. Which assets prove the net asset figure, and what is each worth after any mortgage or charge?
2. Has that figure been held for the whole six months before the application?
3. If property is part of the plan, is it commercial, or one home at or above the price floor, and when was it completed?
4. What does the intermediary charge each year to hold and report on the portfolio?

Proposals from financial intermediaries or migration agents for this scheme are what the box reads: choose yes at the start, and the proposal is compared with the scheme's published rules. With nothing in writing, choose no and enter the net assets you can show. The check compares a document or a figure with the published rules, and does not look at your application or advise on it; for advice on your own case, speak to a qualified immigration lawyer.

General information, not legal advice.