580,000 applicants, 270,000 new residents in three years: Why global talent are choosing Hong Kong

Hong Kong has successfully attracted about 580,000 applicants to join its talent admission schemes in just the past three years, with some 270,000 people settling in the city. The total including their family members is higher.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare of the Government of the HKSAR, Chris Sun, says the heartening response reflects the city’s attractiveness. “We are making quite a significant improvement over the past three years. Hong Kong remains a leading city in terms of the number of graduates in sciences, our financing skills, our education in management and all the professionals – which added to these very, very strong basic foundations.”

Global rankings reflect renewed competitiveness

In the IMD World Talent Ranking 2025, Hong Kong jumped to fourth place globally and came in first in Asia, marking its highest-ever position and a significant rise from ninth globally in 2024.

The IMD ranking highlights Hong Kong’s improved appeal, readiness, and investment in talent, and is placed first worldwide for its proportion of science graduates.

Says Mr Sun: “It is owing to our very open, proactive policies in attracting and retaining talents into Hong Kong.”

Such policies include the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS), introduced in late 2022, which is a talent recruitment measure that focuses on high-income individuals and high calibre graduates from the world’s top 100 universities, with enhancements to various existing admission schemes.

So far, the Government has received more than 150,000 applications under the TTPS as of end-2025. More than 120,000 of these applicants have been approved, with over 100,000 talents settling in Hong Kong.

As part of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster, the city was also ranked first worldwide in the World Intellectual Property Organisation Global Innovation Index 2025, surpassing Tokyo-Yokohama. The cluster achieved pole position through high-volume international filings of PCT patent applications, scientific articles, and strong venture capital investment.

The accolades, and Hong Kong’s success in talent attraction and retention, come on the back of the city’s unique advantages as a “super-connector” and “super value-adder” to the Chinese Mainland and the region, under the “one country, two systems” principle.

Hong Kong has tried and trusted legal, financial, investment and taxation systems that provide a safe, secure and familiar business environment for investors and residents.

It is the only city in the world with five universities ranked among the world’s top 100, offering a wide range of world-class research and educational opportunities.

The city has deep interwoven networks of highly knowledgeable talent and businesses with expertise in global markets, consistently delivering world-class professional services.

This powerful combination attracts outstanding overseas talent to pursue studies, conduct research, and develop their careers in Hong Kong.

Strengthening the talent pipeline

To build on its success, Hong Kong is expanding its talent outreach programme with the launch of the second Global Talent Summit Week in March, which will feature the International Talent Forum, the CareerConnect Expo and nine satellite events covering diverse themes.

The 2026 Summit comes about two years after the inaugural one in May 2024, which successfully promoted Hong Kong’s dual role as an international talent hub and China’s gateway for overseas talent.

Jointly organised by the Labour and Welfare Bureau and Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE), the Forum and Expo of the Summit will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wanchai on March 18 and 19, 2026, under the theme of “Connecting Global Minds”.

The Forum aims to explore global talent trends, discuss strategies and insights on how education, technology and talents will build the success of the future workforce.

The Expo will feature major enterprises and institutions, as well as showcase Hong Kong’s role as a super connector for talents in five themed zones.

The technology zone will showcase Hong Kong’s innovation and technology ecosystem, as well as cross-regional opportunities; the education zone features the city’s leading educational institutions connected to world-class education; the talent zone introduces settlement services for incoming professionals; as well as the Connection Hub, a dynamic space for industry presentations and talent sharing with the aim of building lasting professional relationships.

The Expo will also display a wide range of services offered by the Government, such as the HKTE, and enterprises in supporting incoming talents.

These are all part of the Hong Kong Government’s efforts to draw the best manpower to the city, in part, to address challenges posed by an ageing population and shortage of manpower.

Watch the Global Talent Summit Week online here.