Hong Kong Top Talent Pass 2026: Is My University on the Eligible List?

If you are applying under Category B or C of the Hong Kong Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS), your university is “eligible” only when the institution that actually awarded your bachelor’s degree appears on the aggregate list of eligible universities compiled by the Labour and Welfare Bureau; a degree from a continuing education arm, branch school, extension school or subsidiary school of a listed university is not accepted. According to the Immigration Department’s Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) Frequently Asked Questions page, this awarding-institution rule governs whether your degree is recognised. Because the scheme turns on exact names and levels, treat this as general information rather than personalised advice, and let the latest official list or a qualified professional decide your own case.

Does the eligible university list apply to every applicant?

No. Category A does not use the university list at all. To qualify under Category A, you need annual income of HK$2.5 million or more, or the equivalent in foreign currency, in the year immediately preceding the application date, counting taxable employment or business income such as salary, allowances, stock options and profits from self-owned companies.

Categories B and C are the degree routes, so those are the only ones that require your bachelor’s degree to come from a listed university. Category B additionally requires at least three years of work experience accumulated over the five years before the application date. Category C targets recent graduates with less than three years of work experience, and it is subject to an annual quota allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; the FAQs place that annual quota at 10 000. Category C also does not apply to non-local students who obtained their undergraduate qualification in a full-time, locally accredited programme in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Which four sources put a university on the aggregate list?

The Labour and Welfare Bureau builds the list from four streams, each measured over the past five years:

• The top 100 universities or institutions in four designated world university rankings: Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, U.S. News and World Report’s Best Global Universities Rankings, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Ranking of World Universities.
• The top five universities or institutions with specialised hotel programmes in the QS “hospitality and leisure management” discipline.
• The top 20 Mainland universities in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Best Chinese Universities Ranking.
• The top five specialised institutions in the QS “Art and Design” discipline.

Entry therefore depends on those rankings and specialised lists rather than on general reputation. You can use that structure as a sanity check: ask which stream your awarding institution could plausibly have qualified through, then confirm the exact name on the list.

How do I reverse-check my own degree, step by step?

1. Find the institution that awarded your bachelor’s degree on your certificate.
2. Write down its exact legal name.
3. Set aside the name of the campus, school or college where you took classes if it differs.
4. Open the aggregate list of eligible universities published by the Immigration Department.
5. Search the list for that exact awarding-institution name.
6. If the degree was awarded by a continuing education arm, branch school, extension school or subsidiary school, stop and treat it as not accepted.

Assume an applicant holds a bachelor’s degree issued by a listed university’s extension school. The parent university’s place on the list does not rescue the degree, because the excluded arm is the actual awarding body. The list recognises the institution that grants the qualification, not every brand or location attached to it.

Which qualifications fail even when the university name matches?

The listed name is necessary but not sufficient. The FAQs set several further traps:

• The qualification must be equivalent to the recognised Hong Kong standard of a bachelor’s degree, and honorary bachelor’s degrees are expressly not accepted.
• If you hold only a master’s or doctoral degree from a listed university and no bachelor’s degree, Categories B and C are unavailable; you must actually have been awarded the bachelor’s degree.
• A bachelor’s degree obtained through online or distance learning, or through evening, self-taught or part-time study at an eligible university, does not qualify.
• For a joint programme, every awarding institution must itself be on the aggregate list; if one partner is not listed, the joint degree does not meet the test.

How recent must my graduation be, and what work experience counts?

For Category C, the bachelor’s degree must have been awarded in the past five years before the application date, and graduation is counted by year of graduation. The official example states that a person who graduated in 2018 could apply under Category C no later than 31 December 2023, which shows the window runs to the end of the fifth year.

For Category B, the required work experience must total at least three years and come from full-time employment or self-employment after graduation, accumulated within the five years before you apply. You also cannot apply before your proof of graduation exists, because an application cannot be processed without it.

How do I prove the degree is genuine?

Category B and C applicants must submit verification proof of academic qualifications issued by a third-party credential verification organisation or by the awarding institution, and must provide information so the Immigration Department can carry out online authentication on the relevant platforms. The Immigration Department publishes a separate list of third-party credential verification organisations. Full supporting-document requirements are set out in the Guidebook for TTPS.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know whether my university is on the list?

View the latest aggregate list of eligible universities published on the Immigration Department site. The list is the only authoritative source for whether an institution is “eligible”. Search for the exact name of the institution that awarded your bachelor’s degree, because brand, campus or partnership names do not decide the outcome.

I have a master’s degree but not a bachelor’s from a listed university. Can I apply under Category B or C?

No. The scheme requires a bachelor’s degree from one of the eligible universities for both categories. A higher degree alone cannot substitute for that bachelor’s award. You would need the qualifying bachelor’s degree itself.

My bachelor’s degree came from a branch campus or continuing education school of a listed university. Does it count?

No. The FAQs state that qualifications from continuing and professional education arms, branch schools, extension schools or subsidiary schools established by an eligible university are not accepted. The parent university’s listing does not extend to those arms.

My degree was jointly awarded. What if only one of the institutions is listed?

All awarding institutions must be on the aggregate list. If even one partner is not listed, the joint programme does not meet the Category B or C degree requirement, even though the other partner is eligible.

Is there a quota for Category C, and how large is it?

Yes. Category C is subject to an annual quota that is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. According to the FAQs, the current annual quota for Category C is 10 000.

How is “graduated in the past five years” counted for Category C?

It is counted by year of graduation, not by the month the degree was conferred. The FAQ example says someone who graduated in 2018 could submit a Category C application no later than 31 December 2023. This shows the five-year window ends at the close of the fifth year after graduation.

References

• Immigration Department — Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) Frequently Asked Questions