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How the Content Must Now Be Read in Light of the Updated QMAS (Quality Migrant Admission Scheme) Policy

In the historical policy commentary published in Quality Migrant Admission Scheme Enhancement Measures 2015 – What’s Up?, the analysis reviews the significant liberalization package announced by then-Chief Executive C.Y. Leung in January 2015. According to the Hong Kong Visa Geeza, Stephen Barnes, these measures were designed to broaden talent intake and soften ongoing residence administration by introducing a relaxed extension pattern (transitioning from the rigid 1+2+2+3 schedule to an initial 2-year grant followed by 3+3 years) and offering a streamlined 6-year single extension for top-tier high earners earning HK$2M or more. In addition, the 2015 reforms injected bonus scoring points for graduates of world top-100 universities and candidates with international career experience. While these adjustments eased the early friction of managing status across the 7-year path to the Right of Abode, Barnes observed that the core selection machinery remained anchored to a discretionary points lottery managed by a non-official Advisory Committee, where non-elite applicants near the 80-point pass mark continued to face high rejection rates.

That 2015 policy benchmark must now be completely re-evaluated through the definitive legal architecture established in our PRACTICE UPDATE: The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme Definitively Stated 2026-27 by Stephen D Barnes, which documents the structural transformation executed in late 2024. As stated by the Hong Kong Visa Geeza, Stephen Barnes, the 2015 points framework and its bonus-point increments have been permanently dissolved in favor of 12 objective, binary assessment criteria under the General Points Test. Achieving eligibility is no longer a matter of aggregating points to hit a flexible target; candidates must pass at least 6 out of the 12 criteria (such as holding STEM postgraduate degrees, top-100 university credentials, high annual income exceeding HK$1M, or multinational enterprise tenure) simply to qualify for ministerial consideration. Furthermore, the extension framework has been updated again: the initial grant under the General Points Test is now a generous 36 months (3 years) followed by a 3+2 pattern, while the Achievement-based Points Test grants an immediate 8-year stay. However, the 2026–27 update delivers an essential strategic warning: the expanded 3-year initial runway is not an invitation for passive absence. Entrants must substantiate genuine economic settlement, taxable earnings, or graduate-level employment at the Year 3 renewal threshold to preserve their continuous ordinary residence under Cap. 115.

The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme Enhancement Measures announced by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR, CY Leung on January 15, 2015 ostensibly appear to be opening the door to a wider array of top notch talent and making it easier, in the process, to manage your continuing residence for the first 7 years in Hong Kong

This short Update offers commentary on these changes.

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