The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme ("QMAS") is a points-based immigration system in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.
[1][2] It was first announced in February 2006, and began accepting applications in June of the same year; by September 2023, more than 20000 people had been admitted to residence in Hong Kong under the scheme.
[6] With the aim of attracting talented people from mainland China and the rest of the world to settle and work in Hong Kong, the QMAS set up admissions criteria under which applicants could be admitted to residence in Hong Kong without the prior offer of local employment required for a normal working visa.
The scheme included two methods of assessment: a general points test, under which applicants would be awarded points based on their education, age, working experience, language abilities, and family background, and an achievement-based test for people such as Olympic medalists, Nobel laureates, or scientists and professionals with significant recognition in their field.
[17] By the end of May that year, the number of people admitted under the scheme drew near to 500; however, this still formed only a minute proportion of the roughly 210,000 non-local professionals working in Hong Kong.
[25][4][26] The twenty-member Advisory Committee on Admission of Quality Migrants and Professionals advises the Director of Immigration on applications received under QMAS.