[IMJuksing]

Hi, I was wondering if there are any successful applicants under the Quality Migrant Admissions Scheme (QMS) here on Geoexpat. I have been traveling for quite a while and have been in HK for a few months and absolutely love this place and want to move here! I’m currently in HK (but will travel to china and possibly another country for another month or two) and in the process of filling out the QMS form.

Here is some info about me:
-Worked in Toronto as a civil engineer for about 6 years
-Under the point based scheme I can get 100 points
-Single no kids
-Proficient in English but can understand and speak basic Cantonese (with some hesitation and an accent)
-I have a large network of friends and some family members here (aunt and uncle)
-I have accommodation already set up
-Mother is from HK, father from China, but they’ve immigrated to Canada 30+ years ago

So I was wondering what my chances for acceptance are? Is there a market in HK for civil engineers? I may switch careers once here, but I’ll use my engineering experience to try get myself into HK – any thoughts on this?

Should I apply now while I’m here, or wait until I have completed my travels, which should be in July?

Can anyone who’s applied share his or her experiences (successful or unsuccessful)?

Any comments, negative or positive, will be much appreciated!

Also, please feel free to IM or email me at kjchan@hgcbroadband.com

Thanks

[Aritaurus]

If your mother is from Hong Kong, you might not even need to apply for the quality migrant scheme. You should be eligible for the right to land which gives you unconditional stay in Hong Kong. You'll have the freedom to work ,study and live in Hong Kong without restriction.

Was your mother born in Hong Kong ? If she was, you should be eligible for this status. If she was from the mainland then immigrated to Hong Kong, you'll probably have to apply under the quality migrant scheme instead.

[PDLM]

QMS is for Nobel prize winners, olympic athletes, pop stars and similar. No chance as a random engineer.

[Aritaurus]

Ah , so that's how all these pop stars from Canada/US/Malaysia/Singapore who are in the Hong Kong entertainment industry get their residency.

[vmlinuz]

Originally Posted by PDLM

QMS is for Nobel prize winners, olympic athletes, pop stars and similar. No chance as a random engineer.

Uh, no.

There are two ways to qualify for entry under the QMS, and there is a quota of (I believe) 1000 entrants per year. The people you mention - athletes and so on - go to the front of the queue for visas, but the rest of the quota is available for 'normal' people on a points basis, as IMJuksing describes. Since I can't imagine there are more than a handful of exceptional people applying under the scheme each year, there are plenty of potential visas for qualified/experienced people.

At least I hope so, since I intend to submit an application in the near future...

[PDLM]

I'll be interested to hear how you get on. The scoring system is simply a gatekeeper. If you don't get at least 100 points then they won't even consider the application. Of the ones that they do consider about 60-70% are successful, but the 1000 quota isn't an issue - they have only issued 2-300 a year so far.

[vmlinuz]

The website says the minimum score for application is 80... I reckon I'm on 100-110, depending on whether I can convince them that I have "at least 2 years [professional experience] in a senior role" or not. On the other hand, I did think the numbers had gone up since they opened it up to English-speakers and started promoting it more.

[PDLM]

Sorry - yes, the minimum threshold is (as they state) a moving target. Currently 80, it was 100 in the older document I was looking at.

[Hamton]

PDLM - there was some program on TVB about the quality migrants a few months back. None of the successful applicants featured were 'nobel prize winners' or olympic athletes.

One was a dull accountant in his 30s, another a self employed, businessman, another a sports coach.

To be honest, I think they're pretty desperate. They're struggling to reach 20% of their quota, and what highly successful people would really want to move from the country they've made themselves in, to start afresh in HK? Immigration on that basis is a bit bloody stupid (or typical of HK bureaucracy, if you will).

I checked out the form myself last year (got a work permit instead, less hassle -- I've heard 'quality migrants' have been waiting up to a year for a decision) and easily made it past 100 points. You get something like 25 points just for being aged between 25 and 35, another 25 for speaking English, then about 50 for education, a potential 50 for other languages (chinese) and a bunch of other things work work experience and family (work experience goes something like '2 years', '5 years', '10+ years' for the points).

It's absolutely not purely for mainland olympic medal winners. But to be honest, it's much easier to get a work permit or dependant visa, or if you've got the money, an investment visa, so it's not worth the bother.

[JT06]

Hello~~ As I've said in another forum, the gov recently relaxed the rules to make it easier for people to qualify.

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - Immigration Department

If you want to apply, definitely start early and don't wait, as the process will take quite a long time, plus the committee that determines the final results meet only 4 times a year.

From what I understand, the passing mark is 80. If you get 80, you have a good chance of being recommended to the committee. If you get above 90, you have a very good chance.