In recent years, amidst the trend of investment immigration to Hong Kong, World Wide Immigration Consultancy, headquartered in Hong Kong, has exhibited precise understanding of the local legal system and immigration policies. The year 2013 is undoubtedly a year filled with uncertainties regarding Hong Kong's investment immigration policies. This year marks the tenth anniversary since the introduction of the investment immigration policy in 2003, coinciding with a review that occurs every three years. The nearing of these two significant timeframes greatly increases the likelihood of the Hong Kong government raising the investment immigration thresholds.
Based on past experiences, long-standing immigration policies such as the "Capital Investment Entrant Scheme" that have been in place for ten years are quite rare. Data from the Hong Kong government indicates that by the end of 2012, over 16,000 applications for the "Capital Investment Entrant Scheme" had been approved, attracting more than HKD 100 billion in investments to Hong Kong, with annual records being broken. From the perspective of attracting foreign investment, this scheme has demonstrated excellent results.
On the other hand, while Hong Kong benefits from the wave of immigration, the increasing number of investment immigration applications has also brought certain impacts to Hong Kong society. For instance, the inflow of substantial investments has driven up the real estate market in Hong Kong, leading to public dissatisfaction and directly resulting in the government suspending property investment in 2010, raising the investment amount from HKD 6.5 million to HKD 10 million, and announcing that reviews would be conducted every three years.
At the beginning of 2013, news surfaced indicating that the investment immigration threshold would be raised from HKD 10 million to HKD 20 million, along with additional restrictive conditions such as third-country entry requirements. This led to a surge in applications as investors scrambled to catch the “last train.” Subsequently, the Hong Kong Policy Address explicitly responded that there would be no changes to the scheme for the time being, yet as the review period in October 2013 approaches, expectations for changes in Hong Kong's investment immigration policy have tightened once again.
Hong Kong still holds significant appeal for domestic investors, including a favorable business environment, an international education level, and convenient accessibility to the mainland. According to data published by the Hong Kong Immigration Department, there were over 6,500 applications for investment immigration to Hong Kong last year, and this year should not be lower than that figure. For investors intending to settle in Hong Kong, it is essential to seize the opportunity before the two major timeframes arrive and choose an experienced immigration agency to expedite the process.
