Why the hunt for Hong Kong schools is ‘miserable’ for some mainland Chinese arriving through talent pass scheme with children
- Finding a school is hard for some, and children have to adjust to using Cantonese and English
- Some parents enrol children for language tuition to help them cope better with lessons in school
Mainland Chinese talent drawn to Hong Kong under a new scheme have begun settling in, with some complaining that it is hard to get their children into schools in the city.
Parents who spoke to the Post said school admission tests were hard and their children’s lack of proficiency in English and Cantonese proved a problem. Some said they were sending their children for lessons in both languages.
One principal said he had to turn away applicants who could not speak Cantonese, the school’s medium of instruction for Chinese classes.
The Top Talent Pass Scheme introduced last December offered successful applicants a two-year visa. Candidates must have earned no less than HK$2.5 million (US$320,500) over the past 12 months or be graduates of one of the world’s top 100 universities who have worked for three of the past five years.
Graduates from the world’s top 100 universities in the past five years with less than three years of experience may also apply, but the number is capped at 10,000 annually.
Those who are not graduates of these universities are also eligible if they earned an annual salary of HK$2.5 million or more in the year before they apply.
Successful applicants are allowed to bring their spouses and children to settle in Hong Kong.
According to the Immigration Department, there were 25,961 successful main applicants as of June, and 22,751 dependent visas were issued.