IT’S OFFICIAL: The Quality Mainland Migrant Admission Scheme – 77% of All QMAS Visas Go to Chinese Nationals!
Posted in Feature Article, Musing, Special Programmes, The Hong Kong Visa Geeza /
Last week, just before the end of the year, the Government of the HKSAR put out a flurry of information on the performance of the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme since its inception six years ago.
Since 2006 and up to last month, the Hong Kong Immigration Department had received 8,553 QMAS applications and approved 2,392.
And, of those approved (wait for it…)
77% were from the mainland (1842 – 307 each year)
3.76% from the US (90 – 15 each year)
3% from Australia (72 – 12 each year)
3% from Canada (72 – 12 each year)
Consequently, the balance 13% (311 – 25 each year) were made up of various other nationalities with seemingly no single country comprising more than 3% of the total number of approvals issued.
So, for those of you ready to throw your hat in the ring and get in the queue for your QMAS lottery ticket, you can now be assured that only 27% of all applications received ever get approved and 87 % percent of those that do get approved go to Chinese, Australian, Canadian or US nationals.
Of course, my maths is rubbish – my discipline is law not numbers even though I did graduate from the LSE – so you’re welcome to pick holes in my interpretation of the stats.
But it can’t be denied.
The Selection Committee unequivocally favour Mainland candidates and your “talent” can not be humdrum run of the mill (mid-ranking corporate warriors look out).
Committee Chairperson Marjorie Yang said they looked for energetic and innovative applicants who could bring a wealth of professional skills and contribute to the city’s diversified development.
“We try to attract talented people who have a good understanding of Hong Kong, because Hong Kong is much more than just a financial centre. We have many opportunities for people of different talents,” she added.
Population expert Paul Yip has called for a revamp arguing that QMAS doesn’t actually address the needs of our society.
More Related Stuff on the Quality Mainland Migrant Admission Scheme
1o must have resources for a Quality Migrant Admission Scheme application
Finally, the HKID shed some light on what constitutes talent for the purposes of a QMAS approval
Why I hate the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (and you should too!)
Is the Hong Kong QMAS programme just too competitive to be realistic?
Realistically, what is the minimum number of points for a shot at a QMAS approval?
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The Hong Kong Visa Geeza (a.k.a Stephen Barnes) is a co-founder of the Hong Kong Visa Centre and author of the Hong Kong Visa Handbook. A law graduate of the London School of Economics, Stephen has been practicing Hong Kong immigration since 1993 and is widely acknowledged as the leading authority on business immigration matters here for the last 24 years.
