Hong Kong work visa vs talent visa: GEP, TTPS, TechTAS

People search for a Hong Kong “work visa” or a “talent visa”. ImmD publishes separate schemes, and the split that matters is the condition on your stay. Under the General Employment Policy (GEP) and the Technology Talent Admission Scheme (TechTAS), you are normally admitted on employment condition: your stay is built around an approved job. Under the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS), you qualify on your income or your degree and get a stay on time limitation only, without other conditions. That difference shapes who applies, how long you get and what happens when you change jobs.

Employment condition or time limitation only

• Employment condition. GEP and TechTAS entrants are normally admitted on employment condition. ImmD’s TechTAS page spells out what that means: you may only take the employment the Director of Immigration approved, and you need prior approval to change it.
• Time limitation only. TTPS entrants are normally granted a stay on time limitation only, without other conditions of stay. ImmD still checks at extension time that you have a job with a stable income, or a business here.

Side by side

GEP: employment as professionals

The General Employment Policy is ImmD’s scheme for people admitted as professionals. ImmD normally grants an initial stay of 36 months on employment condition, or the length of the employment contract if shorter, then extensions on a 3-2 year pattern on the same basis. ImmD’s enhancement measures FAQ says the initial stay rose from two years to three for applications made on or after 28 December 2022.

GEP has a top-tier stream. If you have been employed as a professional under GEP for at least two years and had assessable income for salaries tax of at least HK$2 million in the previous year of assessment, ImmD may treat you as a top-tier entrant. The pattern is then “2+6”: a six-year extension on time limitation only. ImmD runs a separate Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals; if you live in the Mainland, read that page too.

TTPS: income or degree

The Top Talent Pass Scheme has three categories:

• Category A: annual income of HK$2.5 million or more, or the foreign-currency equivalent, in the year immediately before you apply.
• Category B: a degree from an eligible university and at least three years’ work experience in the five years before you apply.
• Category C: a degree from an eligible university in the past five years, with less than three years’ work experience. Category C has an annual quota of 10,000, allotted first come, first served.

ImmD counts annual income as taxable employment or business income, including salary, allowances, stock options and profits from self-owned companies. The eligible-university list is updated each year. The list in force from 1 January 2026 has 200 institutions, and bachelor’s graduates of four institutions removed that year can no longer apply under Categories B and C. TTPS does not apply to nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

None of the three categories is defined by a Hong Kong job offer. The job question comes later: to extend, you show employment with a stable income, or a business you have set up or joined. TTPS has a top-tier stream on the same thresholds as GEP. At least two years under the scheme and HK$2 million of assessable income in the previous year of assessment can lead to a six-year extension on time limitation only. Our TTPS guide goes further.

TechTAS: the employer’s quota

TechTAS sits between the two. It is an employment route, so your stay is on employment condition, but it starts with the company: the employer gets a quota from the Innovation and Technology Commission and then sponsors you. ImmD normally processes a complete TechTAS visa file in two weeks. Our TechTAS guide covers the changes made on 24 December 2025.

Which route fits your facts

1. Do you meet a TTPS category? If your income or degree fits Category A, B or C, TTPS gives a stay on time limitation only.
2. Does a Hong Kong technology company want to hire you for R&D? Ask whether it holds, or will apply for, a TechTAS quota.
3. Do you have a professional job with a Hong Kong employer? GEP is ImmD’s employment route for professionals.
4. Do you live in the Mainland? Read the ASMTP page as well.
5. Did you graduate from a Hong Kong programme? Read about IANG for non-local graduates.

Meeting a published criterion does not guarantee approval. ImmD decides each application on its facts.

Fees and help

TTPS applications carry an ImmD application fee paid online, and ImmD says it is not refunded whatever the result. Our ImmD talent-scheme fees guide explains how those fees work. Hong Kong has no immigration consultant licence, and ImmD decides every application. If you want help preparing a file, compare the visa firms on our list. A firm naming a scheme on its own site is not an ImmD endorsement.