- Stephen Cheung Yu-yuk, 51, who has moved to Australia under this scheme, says benefits of immigrating balance challenges such as higher taxes
- Data shows most workers from Hong Kong under this programme are from the digital technology sector
One Hongkonger says a benefit of moving to Australia is paying local fees for children to attend universities there. Photo: ShutterstockIn four years, Australia has taken in more than 1,300 Hongkongers through a talent scheme that offers fast-track permanent residency. Data from the country’s Department of Home Affairs shows that most of these workers are from the digital technology sector.
A man who moved there under the scheme said most professionals earned less than in Hong Kong partly because of higher taxes, but they could also enjoy more benefits especially for their children, such as paying local universities fees.
A human resources expert said a “huge talent shortage” existed in Hong Kong’s cybersecurity, technology risk, artificial intelligence and research and development in the chip business because of emigration, while various firms were paying top dollar for such candidates in the market.
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The Australian global talent programme, which began in 2019, offers successful applicants instant permanent residence, and is for highly skilled individuals earning at least A$167,500 (US$114,500) annually in designated fields.
Stephen Cheung Yu-yuk, 51, a general manager of a software house in Hong Kong, applied in October 2020 because of discontentment with local politics and was approved in four months. He eventually landed in Australia in September 2022 following preparations and pandemic lockdowns.
“At the time, I wanted to migrate to other countries and looked to see where I could go. But I was too old for various migration programmes as I was over 45,” he said.
“There was a slim chance I would succeed. But this programme has no age requirement.”
Figures obtained by the Post showed that from November 2019 to October last year, 2,866 applications by Hong Kong residents were received with 1,339 approved. Earlier figures showed each applicant took about two dependants with them.
The scheme covers 10 future-focused sectors: digital technology; financial services and fintech; health industries; infrastructure and tourism; education; energy; defence and advanced manufacturing and space; food and agriculture; circular economy; and resources.
Among successful Hong Kong applicants, more than 530 work in digital technology, and over 510 in financial services and fintech. Nearly 150 work in health industries.
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But Australia has been slashing the programme, cutting the quota from 15,000 visas in 2020-21 to 5,000 in 2023-24. The number of approvals among Hongkongers has also been falling.
In 2019, 12 applicants were approved. The figures rose to 218 and 497 in 2020 and 2021, respectively. A total of 426 were approved for such a visa in 2022 and another 186 in the first 10 months of 2023.
The Australian home affairs department also revealed that Hongkongers in their 40s were the main talent group.
Between July 2022 and last October, more than 55 per cent of successful applicants were in their forties. Nearly a quarter were in their thirties and almost one-fifth in their fifties.
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Cheung said his expertise was in enterprise resource planning, which companies used to manage and integrate the essential parts of their businesses, and he worked as a general manager of a software house offering information technology-related services.
Cheung said he was once attracted to moving to the United Kingdom as it offered a bespoke immigration pathway for Hongkongers starting in 2021.
“But the weather in Australia is better than in Britain as it has more sunshine and is warmer, and the time difference with Hong Kong is smaller and it can let me stay connected with Hong Kong,” he said.
Cheung now works remotely for a client in Hong Kong and has set up his own company in Australia.
“I am still working for my client in Hong Kong, my level of income is still the same as before. But I know, the income of professionals in Australia is less than in Hong Kong,” he said, adding that he could use various ways to lower his tax.
“But I came not for my career development but for a different lifestyle. Other Hongkongers in Australia have similar thoughts.”
Cheung, a father of two, said the permanent residency visa also allowed his daughter to enjoy local tuition fees for the University of Melbourne. “The fees I now pay are much lower than the amount overseas students need to pay,” he said.
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The Hong Kong government had also rolled out various schemes to attract talent, with more than 200,000 applications received between January and November and about 120,000 being approved.
Sid Sibal, vice-president of Greater China and head of Hong Kong at search firm Hudson, said the job market for different specialities in the technology sector varied.
“In Hong Kong’s job market, we saw vacancies drop nearly 38 per cent year on year,” he said. “However within areas like cybersecurity, technology risk and AI, we see a huge talent shortage. There is also a huge talent shortage within research and development within the chip business in Hong Kong. A lot of this talent within these four areas has moved overseas.
“I think various firms internally are paying top dollar for these candidates in the market.”
He said there had been a higher emphasis on Mandarin speakers as many technology roles were starting to come from mainland Chinese-owned organisations based in Hong Kong, and talent working in technology from the mainland was also going to meet the market’s need.