Hong Kong officials have hit back at claims that mainland Chinese are able to game its Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) to enter and stay in the special administrative region.

According to an investigative report by local media outlet HK01, mainland-based immigration agents are arranging for Hong Kong employers to falsify evidence of employment, such as payroll data, for their clients applying for the TTPS. 

One agent exposed in the undercover investigation said they charged a fee of 100,000 yuan (£10,780) for visa renewal and an annual fee of 80,000 (£8,630) yuan for producing falsified documents.

Describing the agents as scammers, Chris Sun Yuk-han, Hong’s Kong’s secretary for labour and welfare, told local media: “The Immigration Department strictly gatekeeps every application. Therefore, there is no so-called policy loophole.”

He added: “If [applicants] easily or blindly trust the agents, I worry that they end up with no entry to the city or money… If they contravene the law, they are punishable by the law.”

Introduced in November 2022, the TTPS aims to reverse a brain drain of thousands of foreign professionals who left the city following the introduction of stringent covid quarantine and vaccination rules, a clampdown on pro-democracy protests, and fears about the rule of law in the former British colony.

Despite the expat exodus, recent data suggested a revival in Hong Kong’s popularity among high-income foreign talent, with a total of 80,588 applicants being granted visas under the TPPS. However, 95% of TPPS applicants are reportedly from mainland China.

This influx of mainland talent and claims of loopholes for the wealthy also expose deep-rooted challenges facing the special administrative zone’s “double-nots” population.

Double-nots are children born to Chinese parents in Hong Kong between 2001-2012. While these children are entitled to the full spectrum of rights guaranteed to Hongkongers, including public education and working rights, their parents do not.

This policy has forced many double-not parents to take lower-wage jobs back on the mainland, away from their children who are left alone or in the care of relatives.

Some temporary visas, like the Two-Way Exit Permit, allow Chinese holders short stays of up to 90 days but prohibit employment in Hong Kong. By contrast, the One-Way Permit allows holders to work in the city, but its limited quota of 150 permits per day and strict criteria exclude many.

For the One-Way Permit, Seyfarth’s Leon Mao explains that, “pre-conditions say the parents must over 60 years old; their double-not children are over 18 years old; and the parents have no children in mainland other than their children in Hong Kong.”

Although not specifically designed for them, double-not parents can apply to be admitted to work in Hong Kong under certain schemes if they fulfil the relevant criteria, explains Seyfarth’s Kathryn Weaver.

“For higher skilled professionals, they could be admitted under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (for those from the mainland) or the General Employment Policy (for those from other places), the Technology Talent Admission Scheme, the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates, the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, and the Top Talent Pass Scheme,” she tells GML.

“For lower skilled workers at technician level or below, they could be admitted under the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme or a sector-specific labour scheme, such as for the construction, transport, and elderly care services sectors.”

Huko status

While double-not children have all the rights of a Hong Kong permanent resident, they are not recognised by China’s restrictive hukou household registration system.

Chinese residents are classified as either urban or rural, with children automatically inheriting their parents’ hukou status. The hukou system links access to education and other social benefits to an individual’s place of birth, granting those with an urban hukou greater opportunities.

With dual citizenship not permitted under Chinese law, families must choose between Hong Kong and mainland residency for their children. This creates dilemmas for parents working in one region while leaving children in the other. 

“It is common that “double-not” children live with their parents in Shenzhen and travel between Shenzhen and Hong Kong every day to study in Hong Kong,” explains Patricia Ho & Associates’ Patricia Ho, reflecting the logistical challenges faced by many families.

And although some mainland cities, like Shenzhen, allow non-hukou children limited access to public schools, children with hukous take priority.

“As an alternative, double-nots can simply go to private schools on the mainland and purchase commercial insurances, but these are normally more expensive,” explains Baker McKenzie’s Jonathan Isaacs, adding that they can also attend the international sections of certain public schools. 

But, as Ho explains, education is not the only challenge facing these children: “Due to separation from their parents, language and cultural difficulties, and self-identity issues, it is not uncommon for many of [these children] to face financial difficulties, mental health problems, and discrimination.”

Despite the hurdles of the hukou system, Mao advises: “Children can apply for Hong Return Permits with mainland authority, lasting for a five- or ten-year term. With such permits double-nots can reside and work in the mainland, as long as their Return Permits are valid.”