Hong Kong QMAS
Hong Kong
Residency
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See if you're a match →Hong Kong's Quality Migrant Admission Scheme is a talent route for highly skilled or talented people who want to settle in Hong Kong without first securing a local job offer. It generally requires age 18+, financial self-support, good character, strong education or professional ability, and success under the official assessment process.
- Type
- Talent residence
- Job fit
- Highly skilled or talented applicants; no job offer required
- Core requirements
- Strong profile, self-support, good character, and selection
- What to know
- Approval is discretionary under the official assessment process
Summary
Hong Kong's Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, or QMAS, is a talent route for highly skilled or talented people who want to settle in Hong Kong. The important feature is that applicants do not need to have a local job offer before applying.
QMAS is not automatic. Applicants must meet basic prerequisites and then compete under the official assessment process, usually the General Points Test or Achievement-based Points Test. General Points Test entrants are normally granted an initial 36-month stay, with extensions tied to taking real steps to settle in Hong Kong, such as employment or business activity.
Eligibility
You generally need to satisfy all of the basic prerequisites:
- You are at least 18 when applying.
- You can support yourself and any dependants without relying on public assistance in Hong Kong.
- You have no criminal record or adverse immigration record in Hong Kong or elsewhere.
- You have a good educational background, normally a first degree from a recognized university or tertiary institution, or strong technical qualifications, professional abilities, or achievements.
- You are not a national of a country excluded from the scheme.
- You can score competitively under the General Points Test or qualify under the Achievement-based Points Test.
Dependants
Successful applicants may be able to bring a spouse or qualifying partner and unmarried dependent children under 18, provided they can support and accommodate them.
What this route allows
QMAS can let approved applicants enter Hong Kong for residence without being tied to a pre-arranged employer. General Points Test entrants normally receive an initial 36-month stay and can seek extensions if they settle in Hong Kong.
What this route is not
This is not a guaranteed points threshold route. Hong Kong describes a selection exercise and merit-based assessment, so meeting prerequisites and a points threshold does not guarantee approval.
Next Steps
- Confirm that your nationality is eligible for QMAS.
- Review whether your profile fits the General Points Test or Achievement-based Points Test.
- Gather education, professional, achievement, financial, and good-character documentation.
- Estimate whether your score and profile are competitive before applying.
- Submit the online application and supporting documents through Hong Kong's official process.
- If approved, plan the first 36 months around employment, business formation, or other concrete settlement evidence for extension.
Sources
- Hong Kong Immigration Department - Quality Migrant Admission Scheme - official QMAS page, no-job-offer language, prerequisites, dependants, initial stay, and extension rules.