Hong Kong has received 251 applications for its newly launched investment migration scheme, with most applicants residents of the South Pacific island nation Vanuatu and Guinea-Bissau, in West Africa.
The government rolled out the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme on March 1 to allow foreign nationals – and residents of Taiwan, Macau and mainland China “that have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country” – to be granted a two-year visa if they invest at least HK$30 million in permissible assets in the city.
Such assets include non-residential real estate or financial products, and those who successfully renew their visa and continue to live in Hong Kong for seven years can apply to become a permanent residents of the city.
The move was part of a further push to attract high-net-worth individuals to Hong Kong following the introduction of talent attraction schemes designed to plug a brain drain in the city’s professional sector.
Among the 251 applicants, 100 were permanent residents of Guinea-Bissau, and 92 were permanent residents of Vanuatu. Others came from Canada, Australia, Singapore and South Korea, the government revealed on Wednesday.
In a written response to a lawmaker’s questions, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui said the Immigration Department had granted “approval-in-principle” for over 40 applications, allowing the applicants to enter Hong Kong as visitors to make their committed investment.
‘Buying permanent residency’
Writing on Facebook, a financial commentator said the reason so many residents of Vanuatu and Guinea-Bissau had applied for Hong Kong’s immigration scheme was perhaps because some Chinese nationals had gained permanent residency in “small countries.”
On Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, immigration agents have posted advertisements promoting “obtaining permanent resident status of Guinea-Bissau for only 20,000 Renminbi.” One of the advantages of becoming a resident of Guinea-Bissau listed was the opportunity to apply for the Hong Kong investment immigration scheme.
With a population of around 2.1 million, Guinea-Bissau’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was approximately US$775 in 2022, according to the World Bank.
Vanuatu, with a population of around 326,000, had a GDP per capita of US$3,231 in 2022.
Hong Kong’s GDP per capita in 2022 was US$48,983.
According to a 2014 report by Reuters, Chinese officials and affluent Chinese nationals “bought permanent residency” in African countries such as Gambia and Guinea-Bissau to join Hong Kong’s former investment immigration scheme, which was suspended in 2015.
According to the report, an immigration agency said a family could gain residency in Guinea-Bissau with “a copy of a Chinese passport, birth and marriage certificates, a clean criminal record, 12 passport photos and 15 working days.”
In 2008, the Hong Kong government said it had approved over 1,100 applicants for the former investment immigration scheme from 2003 to 2007, with 414 applicants from Gambia and 42 from Guinea-Bissau.
There were also 208 applicants from Canada and 126 applicants from New Zealand.
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