A merit-based residence and work pass for high earners and graduates of the world's leading universities — assessed honestly, prepared properly, coordinated through authorised channels.
Last updated: June 2026 — reviewed against Hong Kong Immigration Department (IMMD) settings, official page as of 16 April 2026.
Free Top Talent Pass Assessment — Category A (income route), Category B (degree + experience), Category C (recent graduate, quota route). Open to all nationalities meeting the criteria.
Get Assessment| Hong Kong Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) | |
|---|---|
| Governing authority | Immigration Department (IMMD), Government of the Hong Kong SAR |
| Programme type | Merit-based residence & work pass (no investment, no points test, not a citizenship route) |
| Category A | Annual income approx. HK$2.5 million+ in the year before applying — no quota |
| Category B | Full-time eligible bachelor's degree + 3+ years' work in the past 5 years — no quota |
| Category C | Full-time eligible bachelor's degree in the past 5 years, <3 years' experience — quota approx. 10,000/year, first-come, first-served |
| Eligible universities | 200 institutions (expanded from 186 on 1 January 2026) |
| Initial stay | 36 months (Cat A); 24 months (Cat B & C) — time limitation only |
| Permanent residency | Right of abode possible after 7 years' continuous ordinary residence (conditional) |
| Government fees | Application fee approx. HK$600 (from 26 Feb 2025) + visa-label fee on approval (ranges only — [exact figures confirmed at assessment]) |
| Our coordination fee | [fees confirmed after assessment] |
| As of | June 2026 (IMMD page as of 16 April 2026) |
We assist applicants based in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha, Kuwait City, Muscat, Manama, as well as across India and Sri Lanka. The TTPS is open to all nationalities meeting the criteria, which makes it a realistic fit for two groups in particular: UAE-based professionals earning around HK$2.5 million or more (Category A), and graduates of the 200 eligible universities (Categories B and C).
Our role is to convert the official rules into a clear, executable plan — and to tell you honestly which category fits your file before you spend anything.
The Hong Kong Top Talent Pass Scheme has three routes in 2026, per the Immigration Department: Category A is for high earners with annual income of about HK$2.5 million or more; Category B is for graduates of an eligible university with at least three years' experience in the past five years; Category C is for recent eligible graduates with under three years' experience. Category C is capped at roughly 10,000 places a year; A and B have no quota.
The practical question is not "which sounds best" — it is which one you can actually prove with documents. Category A turns on stable, taxable income evidence; Category B turns on your degree being on the list and your experience being verifiable; Category C turns on graduating recently and acting before the annual quota fills. Most files don't fail on eligibility — they fail on what's provable. We sort that in the first session. Find out which category fits — free assessment.
For Category A in 2026, Hong Kong counts taxable employment and business income — salary, allowances, stock options, and profits from a self-owned company — while personal investment income is excluded, per the Immigration Department. From 2026, verification was tightened to screen out one-off income such as equity transfers or special dividends in favour of stable, sustainable income.
In plain terms: a single bumper year built on a one-off payout is now far harder to use, and the assessment wants income that looks repeatable. This is exactly where many self-prepared Category A files stumble, and it is what we strengthen — structuring the income evidence so it reads as stable and sustainable rather than exceptional. Message us on WhatsApp to talk through your numbers privately.
As of 1 January 2026, the Hong Kong eligible-university list covers 200 institutions, up from 186, per the gov.hk announcement of 28 December 2025. It is built from the top 100 in four world rankings (Times Higher Education, QS, U.S. News, Shanghai Jiao Tong), the top 5 hotel-management programmes, the top 5 art-and-design institutions, and the top 20 Mainland universities.
The list is refreshed annually, so a degree that qualified last year should be re-checked against the current edition — and a degree that didn't may now be in. For Indian graduates in particular, several leading institutions sit on these rankings, which makes Categories B and C a genuine route. We check your specific university against the live list before you build any plan around it. Have us confirm your degree — free assessment.
The Top Talent Pass grants an initial stay of normally 36 months for Category A and 24 months for Categories B and C, on time limitation only with no other conditions, per the Immigration Department. That means you are free to take up or change employment. Renewal follows a 3+3 pattern for Category A and a 2+3+3 pattern for Categories B and C.
The catch worth understanding early: at each extension you must show either employment in Hong Kong with stable income, or that you have established or joined a Hong Kong business. The pass gets you in; staying in depends on actually working or building something there. We plan the extension story from day one, not at the eleventh hour. Message us on WhatsApp to map your renewal path.
Cosmos Immigration provides structured eligibility assessment, documentation preparation and case management for the Top Talent Pass Scheme. Applications are prepared and submitted through government-authorised channels and regulated legal practitioners within our professional network; Cosmos coordinates the assessment, documentation and case management end to end. This is a residence and work pass administered directly by the Hong Kong Immigration Department — there is no investment requirement and no points test.
No. The Hong Kong Top Talent Pass Scheme does not require a job offer to apply, per the Immigration Department — that is the point of the scheme. You qualify on merit (income for Category A, or an eligible degree for Categories B and C), and the initial pass is granted on time limitation only, leaving you free to take up or change employment once you arrive.
The honest nuance: while no offer is needed to enter, you will need real employment or a real Hong Kong business to renew and to reach permanent residency. So "no job offer" is true at the start — and a job (or business) becomes essential later. We build that reality into the plan from the beginning.
All criteria and figures are set by the Hong Kong Immigration Department and are subject to change.
Criteria and figures are set by the relevant governments and are subject to change; verified against official sources as of the date shown.
It's genuinely open — but it's being tightened, not loosened. Through 2026 the scheme has added stricter Category A income verification (one-off and dividend income screened out), tougher Category B experience checks, and a mandatory pre-extension survey. Independent commentary notes that some holders struggle at the extension stage because they cannot show stable Hong Kong employment or a real business.
What this means for you: the pass grants entry, not security. Keeping it — and eventually reaching the 7-year right of abode — depends on actually working or running a business in Hong Kong, and the right of abode is itself conditional on continuous ordinary residence. We won't promise an outcome anyone can promise. What we do is build the extension and residency story into your plan from the first session, so the route stays open rather than closing on a technicality.
The Top Talent Pass is a Hong Kong residence and work pass, not a second citizenship. Because nothing here grants another nationality, it does not trigger renunciation of Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Act 1955, there is no passport-surrender issue, and it does not affect OCI status. Indian graduates of the 200 eligible universities are a core Category B and C audience.
One practical point: if you remit funds from India to cover relocation or living costs, the RBI Liberalised Remittance Scheme applies — currently a cap of around USD 250,000 per person per financial year (as of June 2026).
This is general information, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Remittances are governed by RBI regulations under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme and your bank's compliance requirements — consult a qualified chartered accountant or your authorised dealer bank before moving funds.
← View all skilled & talent visa pathways on the hub page.
Yes — Category A counts annual income of about HK$2.5 million or more in any currency, using the foreign-currency equivalent in the year before you apply, per the Immigration Department. So a UAE or India-based professional earning roughly that amount (in AED, INR or any currency) can be assessed under Category A. The income must be stable, taxable employment or business income, not investment income.
Yes. A spouse or civil partner and unmarried children under 18 may apply as dependants where there is genuine-relationship proof, no criminal record, and the sponsor can support them well above subsistence level, per the Immigration Department. Dependant spouses may take up work, and children may attend school in Hong Kong.
Extensions run on a 3+3 pattern (Category A) or 2+3+3 (Categories B and C), normally up to 3 years each on time limitation only. At extension you must show stable Hong Kong employment or an established/joined Hong Kong business. Since 30 January 2026, every holder must also complete the "Exclusive Survey for Top Talent Pass Holders" and attach the acknowledgement receipt when extending.
It can, but it is conditional. A holder (and qualifying dependants) who has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong continuously for not less than 7 years may apply for the right of abode — permanent residency — per the Immigration Department. The 7 years must be genuine, continuous ordinary residence, which depends on actually living and working or running a business there; it is not automatic.
No. The Top Talent Pass is a residence and work pass, not a second citizenship, so it does not require renouncing Indian citizenship and does not affect OCI status. There is no passport-surrender or Citizenship Act 1955 issue, because no other nationality is being acquired. This is general information, not legal advice — confirm your own situation in an assessment.
Cosmos Immigration is a regulated immigration consultancy founded in Dubai in 2014, working through CICC-, MARA- and IAA-registered professionals, with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hyderabad and Oakville. For the Hong Kong Top Talent Pass Scheme, applications are prepared and submitted through government-authorised channels and regulated practitioners within our professional network, while Cosmos coordinates eligibility assessment, documentation and case management. Don't take our word for it — ask us how to verify any credential on the relevant public register. Verify Our Credentials
Cosmos Immigration is a private consultancy, not a government body. Program criteria and figures are set by the Hong Kong Immigration Department and are subject to change; verified against official sources as of the date shown.
Start with a free assessment, not a sales pitch — or message us on WhatsApp. We'll tell you honestly which category fits — even if the answer is "not yet."
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