New List of Eligible Universities for Top Talent Pass Scheme Effective January 1, 2025

Annual update of aggregate list of eligible universities under TTPS

The Government announced today (December 27) that the annually updated aggregate list of eligible universities (aggregate list) under the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) will take effect on January 1, 2025.

The TTPS aims to attract talent in the following three categories:

Category A: persons with annual income reaching HK$2.5 million or above in the year immediately preceding the date of application;

Category B: full-time bachelor's degree graduates of the universities/institutions prescribed in the aggregate list (eligible universities/institutions) with at least three years of work experience over the past five years immediately preceding the date of application; or

Category C: full-time bachelor's degree graduates of eligible universities/institutions in the past five years immediately preceding the date of application with less than three years of work experience.

This round of updates to the aggregate list reflects the changes in 2024 to the top 100 universities/institutions in four world university rankings (namely the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, the U.S. News and World Report's Best Global Universities Rankings and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Ranking of World Universities) in the past five years; and the top five universities/institutions providing specialised hotel programmes on the QS World University Rankings in the discipline of "hospitality and leisure management" in the past five years.

Starting from November 1 this year, the aggregate list also includes the top five specialised institutions on the QS World University Rankings in the discipline of "Art and Design" in the past five years and the top 20 ranked Mainland universities under the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Best Chinese Universities Ranking in the past five years.

The updated aggregate list consisting of 199 universities/institutions (see Annex) will be uploaded onto the online platform of Hong Kong Talent Engage (www.hkengage.gov.hk) and the TTPS webpage of the Immigration Department (www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/TTPS.html) on January 1, 2025.

Man sentenced to three months' imprisonment for operating unlicensed slaughterhouse, illegally slaughtering food animals and selling prohibited food

A man pleaded guilty at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts today (June 3) to charges of operating an unlicensed slaughterhouse, illegally slaughtering food animals, and selling prohibited food at a goat farm in Kam Tin, Yuen Long, in breach of the Slaughterhouses Regulation and the Food Business Regulation. He was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for each of the three charges by the Court, with the sentences to run concurrently.

The spokeman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said that the FEHD conducted a blitz operation with the Police on April 16 this year, successfully cracked down on illegal goat slaughtering activities and the sale of prohibited food at the goat farm, and arrested and charged the man.

Under the Slaughterhouses Regulation and the Food Business Regulation, operating an unlicensed slaughterhouse, illegally slaughtering food animals, or sale of prohibited food are serious offences. Upon conviction, offenders are liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment up to six months.

The spokesman emphasised the FEHD's deep concern and strong commitment to combating the illegal slaughtering of food animals and the sale of prohibited food through stringent enforcement actions against violations. Anyone who discovers suspected illegal slaughtering activities or has doubts about the origin of meat being sold by retailers can report it by calling 1823.

Source: AI-found images