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Hong Kong · Relocation guide

Moving to Hong Kong: residence and first-month setup

Hong Kong has distinct sponsored, talent and graduate routes. Secure the correct status before work, register for an HKID when required, and use the conditions of stay to drive employment, family, tax, healthcare and renewal decisions.

Content updated 11 September 2026. Individual source-check dates are listed below.

Choose between sponsored employment, talent and graduate status

A visitor may conduct only the activities Immigration permits and cannot ordinarily take paid or unpaid employment, establish or join a business, or study. General Employment Policy applicants need a genuine qualifying role and employer case. Top Talent Pass Scheme applicants can qualify without a job offer at initial application, but extension requires evidence of qualifying Hong Kong employment or business activity. The Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates has separate recent- and non-recent-graduate rules.

Do not choose a route only because it appears flexible on day one. Compare initial evidence, employer-change rules, extension evidence, dependant eligibility and the expiry plan. The e-Visa and landing conditions show the actual permission. Mainland residents and certain nationalities can face route-specific arrangements, so the published general route is not necessarily the correct application channel for every passport or residence history.

Choose between sponsored employment, talent and graduate status
SituationVisaAtlas routeDecision point
Confirmed professional jobGeneral Employment Policy (GEP)The role, remuneration and employer case must satisfy GEP
Qualifying top talent without an initial jobTop Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS)Extension depends on qualifying Hong Kong work or business evidence
Eligible non-local graduateImmigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG)Recent and non-recent graduates face different job-offer rules
Points-assessed talent candidateQuality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS)Passing prerequisites is not an approval guarantee
Spouse or child of an eligible sponsorEntry for Residence as DependantsStudy and work conditions depend on the sponsor’s category

Read the landing conditions and register for the HKID on time

At arrival, save the e-Visa, landing slip, passport bio page and permitted limit of stay. Check whether employment is tied to an approved employer or is on time limitation only without other conditions of stay. An HKID is identity evidence; it does not override an immigration condition. Employers may need to inspect both the HKID and the valid travel document before treating a non-permanent resident as lawfully employable.

Immigration says residents aged 11 or over who are permitted to stay for more than 180 days generally must register for an identity card, subject to exemptions. A new arrival aged 18 or over in that category must apply within 30 days of arrival. Book the Registration of Persons appointment and bring the original travel document, entry permit or other evidence showing residential status. For a child aged 11 to 17, bring the additional birth and parent or guardian evidence specified by Immigration.

Align the job, dependant rights and MPF position

Give HR the e-Visa, limit of stay and HKID when available, then check the first payslip and benefits. A GEP holder should seek Immigration approval where required before changing employer; talent and graduate routes can have different freedom during their permitted stay. Dependants of people admitted under listed employment and talent routes are generally not prohibited from employment, while dependants of students need prior permission. Read the actual dependant endorsement rather than relying on the principal applicant’s route name.

MPF is a separate statutory pension question. MPFA lists exemptions for a person entering for employment for no more than 13 months and for a person covered by an overseas retirement scheme; an extension beyond 13 months can end the first exemption. Dependants who take employment do not use the employment-entry exemption merely because their sponsor is foreign. Ask payroll to document whether enrolment or an exemption applies and retain scheme statements.

Budget for Salaries Tax and open banking with evidence, not assumptions

Hong Kong Salaries Tax applies to income arising in or derived from Hong Kong from an office, employment or pension. IRD’s current guide explains that source is fact-sensitive and includes services rendered in Hong Kong; payment offshore or by a non-Hong Kong company does not by itself settle the question. Keep contracts, workday location, travel, bonuses, equity and housing-benefit records. Review the first assessment and provisional-tax position rather than treating payroll withholding as the final liability.

HKMA says banks do not use one identical account-opening checklist. They generally collect identity and residential-address information and may request more based on risk, service and overseas requirements. Ask two banks what they need for the specific status; bring passport, HKID when issued, e-Visa, address, employment and source-of-funds evidence. Keep an overseas account until salary, rent, transfers and cards work, and preserve account-opening correspondence if further evidence is requested.

Verify the flat and stamp the tenancy agreement

Test the commute, building management, lift access, noise, air conditioning, furnishings, mobile signal and school journey before committing. Verify the owner through the Land Registry, inspect defects and meters, and write the deposit, management fee, rates, utilities, break clause, repair and handback terms into the agreement. Do not transfer funds solely on an agent’s message; confirm licensed-agent and landlord details.

IRD says a tenancy agreement must be stamped within 30 days after execution. Landlord and tenant are both among the persons liable, although they can agree how to share payment. An unstamped agreement cannot be received as evidence in civil proceedings or acted on by a public officer or body corporate. Obtain the stamp certificate and keep it with the signed lease, inventory, payment proof and address records.

Confirm Hospital Authority eligibility and the private-care gap

Hospital Authority classifies valid HKID holders as Eligible Persons for public-charge purposes, except where the permission on which the HKID was based has expired or ceased to be valid. Resident children under 11 are also listed. This is a charging classification, not a promise of immediate appointments, every service or private treatment. Keep the valid immigration status and identity evidence available when care is needed.

Bring prescriptions, vaccination records and clinical summaries. Identify a nearby public accident-and-emergency department, general outpatient route and suitable private clinic. Decide whether employer or personal insurance is needed for private access, dental, maternity, mental health, chronic medicines or evacuation. Confirm enrolment and exclusions for each dependant rather than assuming the principal employee’s benefit covers the household.

File dependant status and school placement as separate projects

Immigration requires genuine relationship evidence and proof that the sponsor can support and accommodate dependants. The dependant’s limit of stay is normally linked to the sponsor, and relationship or sponsor circumstances can affect extension. Prepare marriage, birth, custody and name-change documents plus certified Chinese or English translations where required. A child or spouse should not travel as a visitor with an assumption that residence can always be changed after arrival.

Education Bureau says newly arrived children may apply directly to schools or seek placement help from a Regional Education Office. Bring the child’s identity and immigration evidence, prior academic records and proof of address; visitor status does not ordinarily permit school enrolment. International schools set their own admissions cycles and may use assessments, debentures or capital levies, so compare the full terms and a local-school option before paying.

Resolve driving, pets and renewals before they become deadline problems

An overseas licence is not automatically exchangeable. Transport Department distinguishes direct issue of a Hong Kong full licence from a temporary licence and testing. Direct-issue applicants need an appointment and must satisfy the recognised-country or place and documentary conditions for the licence class. Check the current list and residence evidence before ordering translations or driving. Public transport may make a car unnecessary, so test the actual household journey first.

AFCD requires a Special Permit before importing or transshipping a dog or cat. Origin group controls certificates, rabies evidence, entry point and possible quarantine, so obtain the permit terms before booking. Separately calendar every family member’s limit of stay, passport and HKID. Extension rules are route-specific and an application in progress does not itself permit overstay. Before a permanent departure, review IRD’s departure-notification and tax-clearance process with the employer.

Your moving checklist

Tick off the tasks that apply to you. The timing is a planning order, not a substitute for the deadlines on your permission or an official instruction.

0 of 16 tasks completed

Before you move
On arrival
Your first month
Later and before renewal

Sources and checks

The linked authorities set the rules. VisaAtlas explains how the steps fit together; planning suggestions are not a decision on your immigration status, tax residence or entitlement to services.

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