Hong Kong has issued around 100,000 working visas in the first nine months of the year, around 2.5 times more than the total number granted in 2022. The surge was led by the new Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS), launched last year to attract talent amid a brain drain.

The 100,000 working visas granted from January to September this year were significantly more than the 38,559 issued last year, and around 39,000 people were approved via the TTPS by September 30.

To qualify for TTSP, applicants must have earned at least HK$2.5 million (US$319,600) over the past 12 months or graduated from one of the world’s top 100 universities and worked for three of the past five years. Most TTPS holders were from mainland China. Over 80 per cent of the TTPS visa holders were graduates from top universities, while the rest were high earners, according to the Immigration Department.

Source: https://hongkongfp.com/2023/10/10/hong-kong-issues-100000-work-visas-in-first-9-months-of-the-year/

What this means for the UK education sector

Since 2019 there has been a flight of talent from the territory as young Hong Kongers take advantage of the settlement scheme for holders of British National Overseas passports introduced by the UK government, and other similar schemes offered by friendly countries. Hong Kong has seen its population decline by more than two per cent since 2019 with more than 200,000 people leaving the territory.

An influx of new talent may help to offset the drop in the city’s student population and present an opportunity for the UK HE sector in terms of moderating the decline in mobility to the UK, as well as slowing the decline in demand for TNE offerings and recruitment, particularly onto undergraduate programmes. This is particularly pertinent given that these professionals have brought along nearly 19,000 children with them, as reported by the South China Morning Post on 15 October 2023, many of whom are at secondary school level.  However, there is not likely to be the same level of recognition of the ‘UK HE brand’ among new migrants as there is among established Hong Kong residents