Residence by Investment

Hong Kong CIES — Capital Investment Entrant Scheme 2026 Guide

📅 Updated July 19, 2026⏱ 12 min read✍️ CitizenshipByInvestmentPro

The Scheme That Came Back

Hong Kong ran the world's busiest investment-residence program until suspending it in 2015 — and in March 2024 it returned, rebuilt for a new era. The new Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES) grants residence to investors placing HKD 30 million (roughly USD 3.8 million) into qualifying assets, restoring a direct wealth route into one of Asia's two financial capitals precisely as the city campaigns to reassert its hub status. For families oriented toward Greater China dealflow, Hong Kong's common-law courts, deep capital markets and zero-tax treatment of offshore income remain a combination nowhere else offers.

The scheme's design tells you its purpose: the money must go into Hong Kong's markets and funds — with residential real estate pointedly excluded beyond a small allowance — because the government wants capital in the financial system, not another property bid.

The HKD 30 Million: What Qualifies

Applicants must demonstrate net assets of at least HKD 30 million throughout the two years before applying, then invest HKD 30 million as follows: at least HKD 27 million into permissible financial assets — Hong Kong-listed equities, qualifying debt securities, eligible funds and similar instruments — and HKD 3 million into a government-designated portfolio supporting innovation and technology development. Non-residential real estate can count within limits; residential property qualifies only marginally (a single allowance capped at HKD 10 million within the calculation for high-value purchases at HKD 50 million+). The portfolio must be maintained for the duration — you may switch among permissible assets, but proceeds stay invested, with annual certification through a Hong Kong financial intermediary.

Process, Family and the Seven-Year Clock

The flow runs through Invest Hong Kong (net-asset verification) and Immigration: approval-in-principle allows entry to complete the investment, then formal approval grants a two-year visa, extendable in three-year increments while the investment and conditions hold. Spouses and dependent children join the application with full study rights. Permanent residence follows the standard Hong Kong rule: seven years of continuous ordinary residence, after which the investment obligation ends and the family holds PR outright — with the HKSAR passport available to those who naturalize as Chinese nationals, and most Western families instead simply keeping PR indefinitely.

The presence expectation is pragmatic rather than punitive — Hong Kong measures ordinary residence with flexibility for business travel — but families intending PR should genuinely base themselves in the city: schooling, housing and tax residence built around Hong Kong carry the seven-year assessment.

Taxes: Territorial and Simple

Hong Kong taxes salaries and profits arising in Hong Kong — capped at modest rates — and does not tax offshore income, capital gains, dividends or estates. There is no VAT. For investors whose wealth generates returns outside Hong Kong, the practical burden approaches zero, without the treaty fragility of exotic structures: this is simply how the territory's system works. The planning obligations run the other direction — exiting your previous tax residence properly, and for US persons, accepting that worldwide US taxation follows regardless.

Common Mistakes and How Serious Applicants Start

The recurring CIES error is portfolio carelessness: the HKD 30 million must sit in permissible assets continuously, and holders who let proceeds idle uninvested after a sale, or drift into non-qualifying instruments, jeopardize renewals — the annual intermediary certification exists precisely to catch this. Second, net-asset proof: the two-year lookback demands clean evidence of HKD 30 million throughout, and applicants with lumpy, poorly documented wealth histories stall at Invest Hong Kong. Third, treating the seven years casually: families who never genuinely base themselves in the city find the ordinary-residence assessment at PR time harder than the brochure implied.

The serious sequence: month one, engage a Hong Kong intermediary and pre-verify the net-asset evidence; month two, file for approval-in-principle, then enter and complete the investment allocation (the 27-and-3 split) through the designated channels; from there, build the actual Hong Kong footprint — banking, address, schooling where relevant — that makes year seven a formality. Investors wanting China-facing dealflow should treat the CIES portfolio as a real portfolio: the scheme permits switching within permissible assets, and the seven years reward those who manage rather than park.

Who Hong Kong Is Really For

The CIES fits Greater-China-facing wealth: families whose dealflow, suppliers, markets or heritage run through the mainland and who want common-law residence at the gateway — plus portfolio investors comfortable holding HKD 30 million in the city's markets for the seven-year arc. It suits those for whom the territorial tax system matches an offshore-income life. It does not fit families seeking immediate permanence (Singapore sells that, at a price), those uneasy with the region's trajectory, or investors who would resent the residential-property exclusion. The test: if Hong Kong's reopening as a wealth hub is your thesis, the scheme pays you to live your own book; if it is merely a discount Singapore, the discount exists for reasons you should price.

Hong Kong vs the Alternatives

Against Singapore's GIP: CIES costs roughly a third as much and imposes lighter eligibility screening, but delivers a visa maturing into PR at year seven rather than immediate PR. Against the UAE golden visa: Dubai is cheaper and faster; Hong Kong offers common-law depth and the China gateway. And as ever, the scheme answers a residence question, not a passport one — families needing a strong second citizenship on a defined timeline pair a direct CBI program with Hong Kong as the operating base. Our comparison tool and strategy guide frame the stack.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much must I invest under the new CIES?

HKD 30 million (about USD 3.8 million): at least HKD 27 million in permissible Hong Kong financial assets plus HKD 3 million into the government's innovation-and-technology portfolio. You must also prove HKD 30 million in net assets held throughout the prior two years.

Can I buy an apartment to qualify?

Essentially no. Residential property is excluded except for a narrow allowance (up to HKD 10 million counted, and only for purchases of HKD 50 million or more). The scheme deliberately channels capital into financial markets rather than housing.

How long until permanent residence?

Seven years of continuous ordinary residence under the scheme, after which you and your included family obtain Hong Kong PR and the investment-maintenance obligation ends.

Are my investment gains taxed?

Hong Kong levies no capital gains tax and does not tax offshore income or dividends; only Hong Kong-source salaries and profits are taxed, at low capped rates. Your portfolio can be rebalanced among permissible assets with proceeds remaining invested.

Can my family join the application?

Yes — spouse and dependent children under 18 are included, with education rights in Hong Kong's school system, and they accrue the same seven-year path to permanent residence.