Hong Kong SAR · Work

General Employment Policy (GEP)

General Employment Policy (GEP) (GEP) is issued by Immigration Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. VisaAI tracks 19 official requirements for it, each traced to the government page that states it.

Last verified against the official source on .

VisaAI is not a government body and does not issue visas. It cannot decide, predict or guarantee the outcome of an application, and this page is not legal or immigration advice.

Requirements change. Confirm every item on Immigration Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s own page before you apply.

Conditions you must meet

  • Meeting every criterion does not entitle you to the visaThe Immigration Department states this twice on its own page. Every requirement below is necessary; the Department says outright that together they are not sufficient.
  • No security objection and no known record of serious crimeThe first of the five GEP criteria.
  • A good education background — normally a first degree in the relevant fieldThe Department leaves a door open: good technical qualifications, proven professional abilities, or relevant experience and achievements may be accepted in special circumstances, but only with documentary evidence.
  • The vacancy must be genuineA condition on the employer, stated separately from the offer itself.
  • A confirmed offer, relevant to your qualifications, that the local workforce cannot readily fillThree tests in one sentence, and the last of them is about the Hong Kong labour market rather than about you. Neither you nor the employer can settle it in advance.
  • The whole remuneration package must match the prevailing Hong Kong market levelIncome, accommodation, medical and other fringe benefits together — not salary alone.
  • The GEP is quota-free and not restricted to particular sectorsUnusual among the work routes in this registry — Singapore's S Pass is capped by an employer quota, and Malaysia's expatriate approvals run through sector regulators.
  • Mainland Chinese residents cannot use the GEPThey are routed to the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals instead. A PRC passport does not admit its holder to Hong Kong — the SAR administers its own immigration.
  • Nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba and North Korea are excluded from this arrangementStated as part of the same exclusion list as mainland residents.
  • The general immigration requirements apply on top of the GEP criteriaA valid travel document with adequate returnability, a clear criminal record, no security concern, and no likelihood of becoming a burden on Hong Kong. The Department also warns the criteria may change without notice.
  • Overseas Chinese on PRC passports qualify through permanent residence abroad, or a year's residence abroadFor the one-year route the application must also be submitted from overseas — and 'overseas' expressly excludes the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
  • A spouse or a recognised same-sex or opposite-sex civil partnership may come as your dependantHong Kong recognises partnerships entered into under the law of the place of celebration, provided that place legally and officially recognises them. Unmarried dependent children under 18 also qualify.
  • What counts as a partnership is defined tightly, and cohabitation is excludedFour structural features are required: the relationship is governed by the legislation of the place it was entered into, it requires registration by a competent authority, the registration is evidenced in writing, and the parties have a mutual permanent commitment akin to spouses. De facto spouses, cohabiting partners and fiancé(e)s do not qualify.
  • As sponsor you must prove the relationship is genuine and that you can support and house them well above subsistenceThe Department's three dependant criteria. 'Well above the subsistence level' is a standard, not a figure, and no amount is published.
  • Your dependants' stay is tied to yours, and to the relationship continuingThe Department names the failure modes explicitly: a change in the marriage relationship, or the sponsor's death. A dependant under 16 needs a parent or guardian to sign the form.
  • Your dependants may work or study without a separate permissionA sharp contrast with Singapore's Dependant's Pass, which requires a work pass the employer applies for, and with Malaysia's, which bars work outright.
  • The visa is issued as an e-Visa, and you present it on a phone or on paperScanned at an immigration counter via its encrypted QR code. There is no label in the passport.

Steps in the process

  • Four weeks, and the clock does not start until everything has arrivedThe Department states plainly that it will not begin processing until all documents AND the fee have been received.

Government fees

  • The application fee is non-refundable whatever the outcomeThe GEP is a 'specified scheme' under Schedule 2 of the Immigration Regulations (Cap.115A): the principal applicant and each dependant pay a non-refundable application fee and, on approval, a visa issuance fee. The Department links its fee table rather than publishing the amounts here, so no figure is stored.

Official sources

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