What changed in Hong Kong

Long-term crypto holdings are capital assets, disposal profits are simply untaxed

Crypto tax and legal status

Company re-domiciliation into Hong Kong is live since May 2025, with no economic substance test, but it is inward only

Moving your company

No capital gains tax, no wealth tax, no gift tax, no estate duty since 2006, and no exit tax at all

Leaving home: exit tax and ties

A stay of 13 months or less, or membership of an overseas retirement scheme, exempts you from MPF entirely

Social security

Two open questions to plan around: CARF's actual passage, and no guidance at all on staking or DeFi

Crypto tax and legal status

The Stablecoins Ordinance is live since August 2025, but licensing stays deliberately very limited

Crypto tax and legal status

13 SFC-licensed platforms give a fully regulated on-ramp with retail access and spot ETFs

Crypto tax and legal status

Crypto received as salary is taxable at market value on accrual, then subsequent appreciation is capital and free

Crypto tax and legal status

Running a crypto trading, exchange or mining business is taxable if Hong Kong-sourced

Crypto tax and legal status

Offshore trading claims are all-or-nothing, and a relocated founder closing deals from Hong Kong destroys the claim

Moving your company

The territorial system's 2023-2026 erosion is real but narrow, standalone companies are outside both FSIE and Pillar Two

Moving your company

Profits tax is two-tiered, 8.25% up to HK$2,000,000 and 16.5% above, one entity per group only

Moving your company

Tax clearance on departure freezes your final month's pay, budget for it

Leaving home: exit tax and ties

Hong Kong permanent residence is not Chinese nationality, and naturalisation is effectively closed

Permanent residency and citizenship

Right of abode follows seven years of continuous ordinary residence immediately before applying

Permanent residency and citizenship

Dependants of any major route get full work and study rights automatically

Residency routes

The New CIES needs HK$30,000,000, and there is no retiree or passive-income visa otherwise

Residency routes

QMAS gives 36 months on a points test, or eight years outright for exceptional achievement

Residency routes

The General Employment Policy needs a confirmed offer but no minimum salary

Residency routes

The Top Talent Pass Scheme grants 24-36 months unconditionally, no job offer required

Residency routes

An HKID gives immediate access to subsidised public healthcare, no waiting period

Healthcare coverage

A visitor has no public healthcare entitlement at all

Healthcare coverage

Hong Kong has zero social security totalization agreements with any roster country

Social security

Hong Kong's entire mandatory social system is the MPF, 5% plus 5%, capped at HK$1,500 each side

Social security

A senior employee's Hong Kong home office can create a permanent establishment for the foreign employer

Permanent establishment risk

A genuine non-Hong Kong employment is only taxed on time-apportioned Hong Kong days, but the three-factor test is strict

Personal income tax

Services rendered outside Hong Kong on a Hong Kong employment can be excluded, but only if foreign tax was actually paid

Personal income tax

Directors' fees from a Hong Kong-managed company are taxable from day zero, no 60-day relief applies

Personal income tax

The 60-day rule does NOT protect the start or finish of a long residence, the trap that catches relocators

Personal income tax

Genuine visits of 60 days or fewer owe no salaries tax at all

Personal income tax

Salaries tax is the lower of a 17% progressive scale or a two-tiered 15/16% standard rate

Personal income tax

Once you clear the day-count gate, a Certificate of Resident Status unlocks real CDTA relief

Tax residency

Below 180 days you are nowhere-resident for Hong Kong treaty purposes

Tax residency

Hong Kong has no domestic individual tax-residence test at all, liability turns on source

Tax residency

Visitors are barred from employment by law, including unpaid work, and cannot change status after arrival

Right to work

A permitted stay over 180 days requires HKID registration within 30 days of arrival

Immigration and visa

There is no digital nomad visa, but the Top Talent Pass Scheme is a superior substitute

Immigration and visa

UAE and Indonesian nationals get the shortest visa-free window on the roster, 30 days

Immigration and visa

British citizens get the single best visa-free entry on the roster, 180 days

Immigration and visa

Visa-free visits cover 90 days for most of the roster, assessed per entry

Immigration and visa