The Technology Talent Admission Scheme

The Technology Talent Admission Scheme (TechTAS) is a faster route for non-local technology talent whose work is research and development. Set against the General Employment Policy (GEP) and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP), the difference that matters is this. The employer must hold a quota issued by the Innovation and Technology Commission, and the academic threshold is tied to university rankings. These notes follow the Immigration Department page on the Technology Talent Admission Scheme (page revised 16 April 2026, checked 19 October 2026). The detail of a quota application follows the Innovation and Technology Commission application guides TechTAS 01 and TechTAS 02. That detail is not set out here.

How the scheme is structured

1. There are 2 stages:
   1. The company applies to the Innovation and Technology Commission for a quota.
   2. After a quota is granted, the company applies to the Immigration Department for a work visa for an eligible person.
2. The Immigration Department states that a company applying for a quota may submit a visa application for an eligible person whether or not it has already been granted a valid quota. The 2 stages can run at the same time. 1 of the conditions for approval of the visa is that the employing company has been granted a valid quota.
3. A company funded under the New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme has a separate TechTAS-NIAS arrangement. See the relevant guide from the Innovation and Technology Commission.
4. The scheme does not apply to nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba, or North Korea.

Conditions for the applicant, item by item

1. There is no security reason to refuse the application, and there is no known record of a serious crime.
2. The employing company has been granted a valid quota by the Innovation and Technology Commission.
3. You are a full-time employee of the employing company, working in Hong Kong. Part-time work, outsourced work, and freelance work do not qualify.
4. The work is mainly research and development in a technology field. The Immigration Department's definition of research and development activity has 3 parts:
   1. an activity in the natural sciences or the applied sciences, carried out to expand knowledge;
   2. an original and planned investigation that stands a chance of producing new scientific or technological knowledge;
   3. applying the results of research to a plan or a design, before the commercial production or use of a new, or substantially improved, material, device, product, process, system, or service.

A post that is purely sales, purely operations and maintenance, or an administrative post, is hard to show as research and development, even inside a technology company.

1. The academic requirement is a degree in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) discipline. The university that awarded it must stand in the top 100 of the latest published ranking of STEM-related subjects on any 1 of these lists:
   1. QS World University Rankings;
   2. Academic Ranking of World Universities (the Shanghai ranking);
   3. Times Higher Education World University Rankings;
   4. U.S. News and World Report rankings of world universities.
2. Work experience:
   1. A holder of a master's degree or a doctoral degree does not need work experience.
   2. A holder of a bachelor's degree must have at least 1 year of work experience in a relevant technology field.
3. There is an exception. A person who does not meet the academic requirement, but who has, in a particular field, good technical qualifications, proven professional abilities, and/or relevant experience and achievements, may be considered individually where the grounds are sufficient. Proof must be attached.
4. The remuneration is not lower than the market level for a similar post in Hong Kong.
5. You meet the specific conditions set out for that post on the quota notification issued by the Innovation and Technology Commission.
6. There is no doubt about the genuine purpose of the employing company and of the applicant.

How to check the degree yourself

1. Check the ranking of the STEM-related subject on the ranking list. The overall ranking is not the test. Meeting the bar on any 1 of the 4 lists is enough.
2. Keep a screenshot or a printout of the ranking page as it stood when you looked it up. Mark the name of the list and the year. Upload it together with the degree certificate.
3. The degree must be in a STEM discipline. A degree in business or management falls outside this condition, even where it comes from a university that ranks high.
4. The Immigration Department's words are the "latest published" ranking. Check it again before you submit.

Documents

On the applicant's side:

1. A recent photograph and a valid travel document. A Mainland resident who has not been issued a travel document may submit a Mainland resident identity card.
2. A Hong Kong identity card, if you have one.
3. Proof of academic qualifications and of relevant work experience. If you use the exception, submit proof of the technical qualifications, the professional abilities, the experience, and the achievements.
4. For a Mainland resident, a letter of consent for employment in Hong Kong, issued by the current work unit or by the relevant Mainland authority.
5. A resident of Macao or Taiwan, and a Chinese national living overseas, submits further proof of identity and of overseas residence, as the webpage sets out.

On the employer's side:

1. After you submit online, the employer's email address receives a link from the system. The employer must fill in the particulars and upload the documents to complete the application.
2. A listed company, or an employer that within the 24 months immediately before the application has had 1 non-local employee successfully granted an employment visa or a training visa, may omit some of the company documents.

Processing time and fees

1. After the Immigration Department has received all the documents and the application fee, processing generally takes 2 weeks.
2. TechTAS is a specified scheme under Schedule 2 to the Immigration Regulations. The principal applicant, and each dependant, must pay a non-refundable application fee and the corresponding visa issuance fee.

Limit of stay and extension

1. On first entry you are generally permitted to stay for 36 months in the capacity of employment, or for the length of the employment contract, whichever is shorter.
2. Extension:
   1. You may apply within the 3 months before the limit expires, and should submit at the latest 6 weeks before expiry.
   2. Processing takes about 2 to 3 weeks.
   3. The extension is usually granted on a 3-2 year pattern, or for the length of the contract, whichever is shorter.
3. While the extension is being considered, you must leave Hong Kong before the limit of stay expires, unless special approval is given.

Extension under the top talent category

1. The conditions are:
   1. You have already been permitted to work in Hong Kong under TechTAS for not less than 2 years.
   2. Your assessable income for salaries tax in the previous year of assessment reached HK$2 million or above.
   3. You still meet the requirements for a TechTAS application.
2. The proof is a notice of assessment for salaries tax for the previous year of assessment, issued by the Inland Revenue Department, or the related tax documents.
3. After approval, you are generally permitted to extend your stay for 5 years, and you are not subject to other conditions of stay.
4. When the employing company gives an undertaking for an extension in this category, it does not have to apply for a quota.

A change of job

1. In general, a holder may take up only the employment the Director of Immigration has approved. A change of job needs the Director's approval beforehand, and you must still meet the requirements for a TechTAS application.
2. If the new employer does not hold a valid TechTAS quota, a fresh application has to be submitted under GEP or ASMTP, according to the circumstances, and it is assessed under the criteria of that scheme.
3. After approval in the top talent category, you are not subject to other conditions of stay. A change of job needs only a notice to the Immigration Department through its online service.

Before you take a new offer, confirm that the new employer holds a valid quota, and that the new post is still research and development. If either is not the case, prepare the documents against the criteria for GEP or ASMTP, allow time for the approval, and do not start work for the new employer before it is approved.

Dependants

A TechTAS holder may apply under the dependant policy for a spouse or a legally recognised partner, and for an unmarried dependent child under the age of 18, to come to Hong Kong. The sponsor must be able to provide a standard of living well above the basic level, and suitable accommodation. The dependant's limit of stay is generally tied to the sponsor's. In Hong Kong the dependant may take up employment or study without restriction.

Choosing among TechTAS, GEP or ASMTP, and the Top Talent Pass Scheme

1. The degree meets the bar, the post is research and development, and the employer has a quota. TechTAS processing is generally 2 weeks. A change of job is restricted.
2. The post is not research and development, or the employer has no quota. Use GEP or ASMTP.
3. You yourself meet the conditions for the Top Talent Pass Scheme or for IANG. Those 2 are not subject to other conditions of stay, so a change of job is freer. You can discuss with the employer which route to use. For the conditions of each scheme, see the related briefings in this series.

Sources

• Immigration Department, Technology Talent Admission Scheme webpages on the entry visa or entry permit, and on extension of stay (page revised 16 April 2026, checked 19 October 2026)
• Immigration Department, New fee structure for visa applications under specified schemes (checked 19 October 2026)
• Innovation and Technology Commission, Application Guide TechTAS 01 and Application Guide TechTAS 02 (not set out in this briefing; the Innovation and Technology Commission website governs)