1 in 4 approved applicants for Hong Kong talent schemes holds foreign passport: labour chief
- Labour minister Chris Sun dismisses concerns over lack of diversity, says Hong Kong ‘attractive to foreign talent’
One in every four approved applicants under Hong Kong talent schemes holds a foreign passport, the labour chief has said, dismissing concerns over a lack of diversity.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Monday over 45,000 of the more than 180,000 candidates approved for various talent schemes between the end of 2022 and last month were foreign passport holders.
“This means one out of four of the applicants across all talent schemes holds an overseas passport when they come to Hong Kong. This shows that Hong Kong is attractive to foreign talent,” Sun told lawmakers.
The minister also urged lawmakers to look past nationalities when considering the diversity of the inbound talent pool. He said the top alma mater location for young candidates under the Top Talent Pass Scheme was the United States, followed by mainland China.
Sun also addressed lawmakers’ concerns about how the government would vet applications to prevent fraudulent cases from gaining a talent visa or an extension, to stay in the city without contributing to its economy.
Edward Lau Kwok-fun of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) questioned whether top talent visa holders would be allowed to extend their stay or reapply for the scheme if they had failed to find a job in the city during a two-year limit.
Sun said visa holders must find a job or show proof they had been running a company. They were also required to show proof of the company’s business operations, such as taxes and staff hiring.