Who can apply under Hong Kong's ASSG scheme in 2026?
You can apply under Hong Kong’s Admission Scheme for the Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents (ASSG) in 2026 if you are aged 18 to 40, were born overseas, have at least one parent who holds a valid Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card at the time of your application and who was a Chinese national settled overseas at the time of your birth, and you also meet requirements on education, language and financial means, alongside the normal immigration requirements. According to the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s official FAQ page “Enhancement Measures on Admission Schemes for Talent, Professionals and Entrepreneurs” (official page as of October 2026), the scheme exists to attract the second generation of Chinese Hong Kong permanent residents who emigrated overseas to return, valuing their foreign language and cultural knowledge, good education background and family ties with Hong Kong. This article is a general summary for reference only and is not personalised advice on your own situation; because each case depends on official records and documents, you should verify current requirements against the Immigration Department’s published information or seek a qualified professional’s opinion. You do not need a job offer to apply.
What personal and family conditions apply?
The eligibility criteria set out six conditions apart from the normal immigration requirements. The first three define the personal and family profile:
- Age: you must be aged between 18 and 40.
- Birthplace: you must be born overseas, which the official criteria define as not being born in the Mainland, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Macao SAR or Taiwan.
- Parent: you must have at least one parent who is the holder of a valid Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card at the time of application and who was a Chinese national that had settled overseas at the time of your birth.
Does a parent who now holds a foreign passport still count?
Under the Chinese Nationality Law and the interpretation adopted when applying it in the HKSAR, your parent is generally still a Chinese national if he or she is a Hong Kong resident of Chinese descent born in Hong Kong or other parts of China, even if he or she now holds or has held a foreign passport, unless he or she has applied to the Immigration Department for a change of nationality and that application was approved. This matters because the parent condition looks back to whether the parent was a Chinese national who had settled overseas at the time of your birth, while the parent must hold a valid Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card when you apply.
Why aren’t overseas-born children of Hong Kong permanent residents automatically permanent residents?
Under Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law and the interpretation adopted at the Tenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People’s Congress on 26 June 1999, a person of Chinese nationality born outside Hong Kong to a Hong Kong permanent resident parent is a Hong Kong permanent resident only if that parent was, at the time of the birth, a Chinese citizen who was either born in Hong Kong or had ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than seven years. However, Article 5 of the Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China provides that a person born abroad whose parents are both Chinese nationals and have both settled abroad, or one of whose parents is a Chinese national who has settled abroad, and who acquired foreign nationality at birth, does not have Chinese nationality. Because such a person is not of Chinese nationality, he or she cannot acquire Hong Kong permanent resident status under Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law.
How is ASSG different from the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) scheme?
The Certificate for Entitlement to the Right of Abode in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (COE) requires the applicant to be of Chinese nationality at the time of birth, which generally means the relevant parent had not yet settled overseas at that time and the applicant therefore remained a Chinese national. The ASSG is designed for people who are not eligible under the COE scheme because they were born overseas and did not have Chinese nationality at the time of birth. In short, COE covers those who kept Chinese nationality at birth, while ASSG covers those who did not.
What education background is required?
You need a good education background, and the official criteria say this normally means a first degree, such as a bachelor’s degree. In special circumstances, good technical qualifications, proven professional abilities and/or relevant experience and achievements supported by documentary evidence may also be accepted. For example, assume an applicant does not hold a bachelor’s degree but has a professional qualification plus a documented record of relevant work achievements; under the stated special-circumstances route, that kind of evidence may be considered, although it is not presented as a guarantee of approval.
What language proficiency do you need?
You must be proficient in written and spoken Chinese (Putonghua or Cantonese) or English. This means one of two options satisfies the rule: either Chinese — specifically Putonghua (Mandarin) or Cantonese — in both written and spoken form, or English in both written and spoken form. You do not need to be proficient in both Chinese and English, and if you rely on Chinese, it must be Putonghua or Cantonese rather than another Chinese variety.
What financial means must you show?
You must have sufficient financial means and be able to meet the living expenses for yourself — and for your dependants, if any — covering maintenance and accommodation in Hong Kong without recourse to public funds. The official criteria describe the standard as self-support rather than a published figure, and the Immigration Department’s page does not state a fixed monetary threshold, so no specific savings or income amount should be assumed from this summary alone.
Do you need a job offer before applying?
No. You are not required to have secured an offer of employment in Hong Kong when you apply, and you are not required to have a job upon your initial entry. If approved, an entrant is normally granted an initial stay of 24 months on time limitation only without other conditions of stay. When you later apply for an extension of stay, you must show that you have taken up employment at a level commonly taken by degree holders with remuneration at market level, or, if you have established or joined a business in the HKSAR, produce proof of that business; if you fail to prove that you will continue to work or have a business, the extension application may be refused.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply if I was born in the Chinese Mainland?
No. The scheme requires applicants to be born overseas, which the official criteria define as not being born in the Mainland, the HKSAR, the Macao SAR or Taiwan. A person born in the Mainland therefore falls outside the birthplace condition for ASSG.
Does my parent have to be living in Hong Kong when I apply?
The stated criterion is that at least one parent holds a valid Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card at the time of your application, and the official page does not impose a stated requirement that the parent be residing in Hong Kong at that time. The separate historical condition is that the parent was a Chinese national who had settled overseas at the time of your birth.
Is a bachelor’s degree strictly required?
Normally, yes — the criteria call for a good education background, normally a first degree. However, in special circumstances, good technical qualifications, proven professional abilities and/or relevant experience and achievements supported by documentary evidence may also be accepted, so a degree is the standard expectation rather than an absolute rule.
Can I meet the language requirement with English alone?
Yes. You must be proficient in written and spoken Chinese (Putonghua or Cantonese) or English, so English on its own satisfies the requirement if you are proficient in both written and spoken English. If you rely on Chinese instead, it must be Putonghua or Cantonese, in written and spoken form.
How much savings or income do I need to show?
The official criteria require sufficient financial means to meet your own living expenses, and those of any dependants, for maintenance and accommodation in Hong Kong without recourse to public funds. The Immigration Department’s page does not specify a fixed amount, so any figure should be confirmed against the Department’s current published guidance.
Can my spouse and children come with me?
Yes. An approved entrant may apply to bring a spouse or the other party to a legally recognised same-sex or opposite-sex civil partnership, civil union or “same-sex marriage” entered into where it is locally recognised, and unmarried dependent children under the age of 18, under the prevailing dependant policy. The entrant will be the sponsor of those accompanying dependants.