Vietnamese investors can apply to Hong Kong’s HK$30 million New CIES

Vietnamese passport holders can apply to Hong Kong’s New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES), on the official texts read on 15 October 2026. The scheme lists nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba and North Korea as excluded, and the Security Bureau and Immigration Department review that list “from time to time”. An applicant needs HK$30 million in net assets held for six months and HK$30 million of qualifying investment.

Who may apply

The scheme rules, as amended to 1 March 2026, admit applicants aged 18 or over who are foreign nationals, Chinese nationals with permanent residence abroad, or residents of Macao or Taiwan. The rules, the scheme website and two Immigration Department pages, the latest revised on 16 April 2026, all name the same three excluded nationalities.

A text search of those four documents finds no mention of Vietnam. The same text search finds “VIETNAM” on another Immigration Department page, which shows the search picks up the spelling.

The Director of Immigration has “absolute discretion” to approve or disapprove an application. An applicant must also show no adverse immigration record and meet normal immigration and security requirements.

Two HK$30 million tests

For the net asset assessment, an applicant must have held assets worth at least HK$30 million net “throughout the six months” before applying to Invest Hong Kong. Until 1 March 2025 the holding period was two years.

The investment must total at least HK$30 million. At least HK$27 million goes into permissible financial assets or real estate, and HK$3 million into the CIES Investment Portfolio overseen by the Hong Kong Investment Corporation. The HK$3 million is subject to a lock-up period, and the portfolio’s capital and dividends are not guaranteed.

Assets bought before the scheme launched on 1 March 2024 do not count towards the HK$30 million. The investment must be made within a window that runs from 180 days before the net asset application to 180 days after approval in principle.

Where property fits

For purchases completed on or after 17 September 2025, real estate counts up to HK$15 million in total. Residential property counts up to HK$10 million, and only where it is a single property with a transaction price of at least HK$30 million. Only the equity in a mortgaged property counts.

Purchases completed before that date stay under the older rules: a HK$10 million cap overall, and residential property only from 16 October 2024, at HK$50 million or more per property.

Keeping the investment

The investment may not be reduced while the entrant stays under the scheme. If its value falls, no top-up is required, even after a total loss.

Appreciation may not be taken out of the investments. Cash dividends, interest and rental income arising from them may be withdrawn.

Each year the entrant must submit a certified public accountant’s fulfilment document and an anniversary statement to the New CIES Office within one month after the anniversary of formal approval.

If the Director of Immigration determines that the entrant has breached the undertaking, the entrant and any dependants must leave Hong Kong within two months.

Support, work, stay and permanent residence

To qualify, an applicant must show the Director of Immigration the capacity to support and accommodate themselves and any dependants “without relying on any return” on the investment, or on employment, business or public assistance in Hong Kong. Once admitted, an entrant may take up a job or run a business, according to the Immigration Department.

After approval in principle, the applicant may enter Hong Kong on visitor status for up to 180 days to make the investment. Formal approval normally brings permission to stay for up to 24 months, followed by extensions of up to three years each. The applicant must be physically in Hong Kong when applying for an extension.

An entrant may apply for permanent residence after at least seven years of continuous ordinary residence, subject to the Immigration Ordinance. The Immigration Department states that meeting the scheme’s conditions is not an acknowledgement that the ordinary-residence test has been met.

An entrant who has kept the investment for seven years but cannot show continuous ordinary residence, for example after long absences, may apply for unconditional stay, which carries no conditions or limit of stay.

Family, documents and fees

A spouse or recognised partner and unmarried dependent children under 18 may join the entrant under current policy. That policy requires proof of a genuine relationship, no known record to the detriment of the dependants, and the entrant’s ability to support them well above subsistence level and provide suitable accommodation. The dependants are not prohibited from working or studying.

Documents not in Chinese or English need a translation certified as a true translation, and the criminal-record certificate must be issued within six months of the application.

Since 26 February 2025 the Immigration Department has charged each applicant and each dependant an application fee of HK$600, which is non-refundable. On approval, each of them also pays a visa issuance fee of HK$1,300 where the limit of stay on the visa is more than 180 days, or HK$600 where it is not more than 180 days.

Profits tax in general

Under the Inland Revenue Department’s general guidance, profits tax applies to profits of a trade, profession or business carried on in Hong Kong that arise in or are derived from Hong Kong, excluding profits from the sale of capital assets. No tax is levied on profits arising abroad, even if they are remitted to Hong Kong. That guidance is not specific to the scheme.

How many have applied

By 28 February 2026, Invest Hong Kong had received 3,166 applications, and 1,762 had completed their investment and received formal approval, according to a government release. The expected investment was put at about HK$95 billion; the investment verified as meeting the investment requirements was HK$55.6 billion. No breakdown by nationality was found.

What this article has not established

When the three-country exclusion list was adopted, and whether it has changed since launch, were not established. The search for Vietnam covered English-language texts only; Chinese-language versions, application forms and any Security Bureau document were not read.

The length of the CIES Investment Portfolio lock-up and official processing times were not found.

The Immigration Department’s fee schedule excludes “visit visa” applications. Whether the 180-day entry on visitor status counts as one, and which visa issuance fee applies to it, was not established.

Whether Vietnamese documents need an apostille or legalisation was not established in the texts read. Vietnam’s own rules on moving HK$30 million abroad were outside this research.