Expansion of Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Invited Persons announced
With effect from October 1, the Government will expand the Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Invited Persons (the Scheme) by extending its coverage from the current member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to countries and regions in Central Asia and the Middle East, and allowing all bureaux/departments to issue invitations under the Scheme, with a view to facilitating economic and trade interactions and exchanges.
In order to promote economic and trade exchanges and cultural co-operation between Hong Kong and ASEAN, the Government launched the Scheme on March 18, 2025, allowing five bureaux/departments (including the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau; the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau; the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau; the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau; and the Department of Justice) to actively invite ASEAN nationals and provide more convenient immigration arrangements to them. The Scheme effectively facilitates invited persons from ASEAN to visit Hong Kong for exchanges, reinforcing Hong Kong’s role as a "super connector" and "super value-adder".
Upon review, the Government decided to expand the Scheme to cover countries and regions in Central Asia and the Middle East, and to allow all bureaux/departments to issue invitations under the Scheme, with a view to allowing more people from different sectors to visit Hong Kong for exchanges.
The Scheme will cover the following countries and regions after its expansion:
- ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam;
- Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan; and
- Middle East: Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Under the Scheme, bureaux/departments will actively invite nationals from ASEAN, Central Asia, and the GCC, who are able to make considerable contributions to Hong Kong's economic development or who have been invited to attend important events in Hong Kong, to enjoy the facilitation. The Immigration Department (ImmD) will provide one-stop processing of relevant applications from invited persons through an electronic platform, relax the application criteria for self-service immigration clearance, and simplify the information required for visa applications (if applicable) (currently, visitors from eight countries across ASEAN and Central Asia are required to apply for a visa to visit Hong Kong). Invited persons can enjoy selfservice immigration clearance service at the control points of Hong Kong, which will greatly enhance clearance efficiency and experience.
For details of the Scheme, please visit the ImmD's website (www.immd.gov.hk/eng/invitedpersons.html).
Source: AI-found images
Expansion of Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Visitors Participating in Short-term Activities in Designated Sectors announced
With effect from October 1, the Government will expand the Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Visitors Participating in Short-term Activities in Designated Sectors (STV Scheme), enabling more non-local talent to participate in specified short-term activities as visitors without the need to apply for employment visas/entry permits. Following a review, in addition to the existing 17 designated sectors, the STV Scheme will be expanded to cover the Social Welfare sector, with the addition of more authorised organisations and specified short-term activities.
With a view to facilitating business, promoting development of relevant sectors and raising Hong Kong's international profile, the Government launched the Pilot Scheme on Immigration Facilitation for Visitors Participating in Short-term Activities in Designated Sectors (Pilot Scheme) in June 2022, which was regularised as the STV Scheme in June2024. As of end-June 2026, the Pilot Scheme/STV Scheme had benefited over 56000 non-local talent, enabling their entry into Hong Kong as visitors to participate in over 9500 short-term activities, including the International Chinese New Year Night Parade, the Asian Financial Forum, the Hong Kong Sevens, the Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo and other major events. The STV Scheme enables more talent to visit Hong Kong for exchanges, giving full play to Hong Kong's strength as a "super connector" under the "one country, two systems" framework.
Upon review, the Government decided to further expand the STV Scheme to cover the Social Welfare sector, with a view to facilitating the entry of non-local talent into Hong Kong to participate in specified short-term activities (including symposiums, workshops, research, etc) organised by authorised host organisations for the benefit of the welfare sector. Moreover, more authorised organisations and specified short-term activities are added in three existing sectors (including international/mega events, higher education, and finance). For more details, please refer to the Annex. Other arrangements will remain unchanged after the expansion.
The expanded STV Scheme will cover the following 18 sectors with a total of some-490 authorised organisations:
- Medical and healthcare;
- Higher education;
- Arts and culture;
- Sports;
- Heritage;
- Creative industries;
- Innovation and technology;
- The Hong Kong Laureate Forum;
- Aviation;
- International/mega events;
- Finance;
- Development and construction;
- Environment;
- Occupational safety and health;
- Maritime;
- Think tanks;
- Social welfare; and
- Others.
Under the STV Scheme, organisations authorised by relevant government bureaux/departments can issue invitation letters to relevant non-local talent in their sectors. Invited persons may come to Hong Kong and participate in specified short-term activities as visitors without the need to apply for employment visas/entry permits from the Immigration Department (ImmD). Participation of non-local talent in specified activities in Hong Kong must be conducive to economic development or achieving relevant policy objectives, without displacing the local workforce. They may participate in the specified short-term activities for up to 14 consecutive calendar days upon each arrival, and receive remuneration for the specified activities concerned. Through an established mechanism, all participating bureaux/departments would assist in ensuring that the implementation of the scheme consistently meets relevant policy objectives and will neither displace the local workforce nor constitute a risk of abuse (including illegal employment).
For more information on the STV Scheme, please visit the ImmD's website (www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/stv.html).
Source: AI-found images
