Move to Hong Kong.
Territorial tax.
A real visa, then right of abode.

Not while your visa is valid — the visa itself carries no minimum-days rule. But two clocks matter. First, extension: TTPS, GEP, QMAS and entrepreneur extensions require you to show employment with stable income or an established business in Hong Kong, and New CIES extensions require the HK$30 million portfolio to be maintained. Second, right of abode after seven years requires 'continuous ordinary residence' and evidence that Hong Kong is your permanent home — habitual residence, family here, income and tax paid here. Long absences undermine both.

Strictly, it isn't. Hong Kong taxes by source, so being 'resident' does not make your foreign income taxable. The IRD only defines residence for treaty purposes: an individual who ordinarily resides in Hong Kong, or who stays more than 180 days in a year of assessment (1 April–31 March) or more than 300 days over two consecutive years, can obtain a Certificate of Resident Status. That certificate — plus the HKID, a lease, an employer and tax returns — is the evidence your old country will ask for.

Yes. Under every scheme above, your spouse (including civil and same-sex partners in a recognised relationship) and unmarried dependent children under 18 can apply for dependant visas alongside you, provided the relationship is genuine and you can support and house them. Under current ImmD policy, dependants of talent-scheme and New CIES entrants may work and study without a separate permit. Dependants pay the same HK$600 application and visa fees.

There is a path to permanent status, not to a new passport. After seven years of continuous ordinary residence you can apply to ImmD for the right of abode (permanent resident status), which gives an unconditional right to live and work in Hong Kong and a permanent HKID. A HKSAR passport is issued only to Chinese nationals, and naturalisation as a Chinese national is discretionary and rare for foreigners; most expatriates keep their existing nationality and the right of abode.

Under the fee structure in force since 26 February 2025, each applicant under a specified scheme (TTPS, GEP, QMAS, New CIES and others) pays a non-refundable application fee of HK$600 and, on approval, a visa issuance fee of HK$1,300 for a stay over 180 days (HK$600 for 180 days or less). Extensions cost the same. The Hong Kong Identity Card is free. New CIES carries no government investment fee, but the HK$3 million CIES Investment Portfolio placement is mandatory and your CPA and intermediary charge professional fees.

Not legally — ImmD accepts direct applications and many TTPS and GEP files are self-filed or employer-filed. A licensed immigration consultant or solicitor earns their fee where the case is marginal (QMAS points, entrepreneur business plans, New CIES structuring and the net-asset assessment) or where an earlier refusal exists. Our review tells you which of those you are.

Immigration and tax answer this differently. Immigration: a TTPS or QMAS visa is on 'time limitation only', so you may work for anyone, including a foreign employer; a GEP or entrepreneur visa is tied to the sponsoring Hong Kong job or business. Tax: employment income from a non-Hong Kong employment is assessed on the days you actually work in Hong Kong, so if you live here and work here, most of that salary becomes Hong Kong-source and taxable at up to 15%/17% — the full exclusion only applies if you render all services outside Hong Kong or visit for 60 days or fewer in the year. Your foreign investment income stays untaxed.

Getting a Hong Kong visa does not end tax residency where you came from — and because Hong Kong does not have a general residence test, some countries' tie-breaker rules need care. Use the relevant Exit site — see exitglobal.app.