2020–2024 IANG Visa Approval Trends for Hong Kong’s Non‑local Graduates: From the Eight UGC‑funded Institutions to a Diversified SME Pathway
Data note: A five‑year trajectory reconstructed from Immigration Department, UGC and institutional public reports
Definitions and data anchors
The Immigration Arrangements for Non‑local Graduates (IANG) is one of Hong Kong’s core talent admission schemes. According to the Immigration Department (ImmD), a non‑local student who completes a full‑time locally accredited programme leading to a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification may apply to remain and work in Hong Kong within 12 months of graduation, without first securing a job offer. The arrangement has been in place since 2008 and has undergone several rounds of refinement. In 2023, IANG visa approvals (including the Greater Bay Area campus graduate category) exceeded 26,000 for the first time, an increase of over 150% compared with the pre‑pandemic level in 2019, making the IANG a key window onto Hong Kong’s talent mobility and employment market structure.
Annual approval volumes: from contraction to acceleration
2020: Pandemic disruption and a lower base
IANG approval numbers posted a rare contraction in 2020. The ImmD annual report recorded 9,754 main‑applicant approvals that year, a fall of roughly 11.3% from 10,992 in 2019. The decline was driven primarily by global border controls, the suspension of face‑to‑face teaching and the departure of non‑local students during the pandemic. Throughout this period, graduates of the eight UGC‑funded institutions still accounted for the overwhelming majority of approvals, but the actual number staying in Hong Kong was suppressed by a shrinking job market.
2021: Stabilisation at a low level, with subtle structural shifts
Approvals edged up to 9,889 in 2021, a modest 1.4% year‑on‑year increase. While the total remained below pre‑pandemic levels, two early signals emerged. First, some graduates who had completed their studies in 2020 but remained overseas re‑entered Hong Kong under the return‑employment limb of the IANG. Second, small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in technology and trading, began raising the share of non‑local graduates in their recruitment. According to the UGC Graduate Employment Survey, non‑local graduates employed by organisations with fewer than 50 employees accounted for 37% of those staying and working in 2021, up six percentage points from 31% in 2019.
2022: A policy watershed
2022 saw the most significant changes in IANG history. The Policy Address announced an extension of the initial IANG stay from one year to two years and expanded eligibility to graduates of Hong Kong university campuses in Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area (GBA), covering institutions such as The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Beijing Normal University – Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (UIC). The ImmD annual report showed that approvals surged to 21,394, a year‑on‑year increase of 116.4%. Approximately 14% of the additional volume came from GBA campus graduates, indicating that the new pathway was quickly activated. Graduates of the eight UGC‑funded institutions continued to supply the bulk of applicants, yet the combined share of the three leading research universities – HKU, CUHK and HKUST (“the Big Three”) – fell below 50% for the first time, reaching 48.6% (calculated from ImmD data classified by applicants’ graduating institutions and cross‑checked against UGC enrolment records).
2023: Unconditional first two years and a new record high
From January 2023, IANG holders were granted an unconditional 24‑month stay, further lowering the bar by removing the requirement to secure employment within the first year. Full‑year approvals climbed to 26,345, a 23.1% rise on 2022 and a 139.8% jump compared with 2019, as disclosed in the Immigration Department’s 2023 Annual Report. More striking was the absorption rate of SMEs (fewer than 50 employees), which rose to 52% and overtook the large enterprise (500 or more employees) and multinational corporation category for the first time; that category’s share fell from 44% in 2019 to 33% in 2023. Global economic headwinds prompted multinationals to put expansion on hold, while local SMEs undergoing digital transformation and expanding their GBA‑related businesses increasingly sought non‑local graduates with strong bilingual skills.
2024: Sustained momentum in the first half and early signals
As of 30 June 2024 the ImmD had yet to release official half‑year data, but according to figures cited by the Education Bureau (EDB) in a Legislative Council paper, IANG application volumes in the first quarter of 2024 were about 17% higher than in the same period of 2023, putting the full‑year approval total on track to reach the 29,000–30,000 range. Preliminary survey findings indicate that cross‑border enterprises in the GBA, including small and medium‑sized trading firms and professional services providers, further increased their hiring of non‑local graduates, signalling that the diversification pathway towards SMEs will become ever more pronounced.
Institutional landscape: the Big Three’s share drifts downwards year by year
The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology historically accounted for more than half of all IANG approvals. Thanks to their international rankings and research reputation, these three institutions attracted large numbers of non‑local students with a strong propensity to remain. Over the past five years, however, that concentration has steadily eroded:
- 2020: Big Three graduates represented about 55.2% of IANG holders. In the same year the three universities together enrolled 64% of non‑local students on UGC‑funded programmes (UGC statistics).
- 2022: The share fell to 48.6%, a drop of 6.6 percentage points from 2020. Over the same period, the number of non‑local graduates staying in Hong Kong rose markedly at City University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. CityU and PolyU respectively had around 1,150 and 1,020 non‑local graduates remaining via the IANG in 2022; together the two universities contributed nearly one‑fifth of total IANG approvals (estimate based on institutional graduate employment surveys and ImmD classified data).
- 2023: The Big Three’s share slipped further to around 45.3%. This was partly attributable to GBA campus graduates – principally from CUHK‑Shenzhen – being categorised separately, and partly to the rising retention rates of non‑local students from other local universities and self‑financing institutions. IANG applications from non‑local graduates of self‑financing institutions such as Hong Kong Metropolitan University and Hang Seng University of Hong Kong together exceeded 2,300 in 2023, nearly four times the 2020 figure (reference: EDB statistics on non‑local students in self‑financing post‑secondary programmes).
This decentralisation reflects two structural shifts. First, non‑local enrolments are no longer concentrated in top‑tier research universities; more vocationally oriented programmes (e.g. nursing, design, hotel management) are driving a higher propensity to stay. Second, GBA campus graduates, as an entirely new cohort, have diluted the traditional Big Three dominance. According to information from the HKEAA and institutional registrars, GBA graduates had cumulatively contributed more than 4,100 IANG approvals by end‑2023.
Diverging employer pathways: from the multinational pyramid to a long‑tail of SMEs
The conventional assumption that IANG holders gravitate first to multinational banks, Big Four accounting firms and global tech giants has been substantially rewritten since 2020.
Shrinking multinational share
UGC Graduate Employment Surveys conducted by independent agencies on behalf of the UGC report the proportion of non‑local graduates employed by large enterprises (500+ employees) as follows:
- 2019: 44%
- 2020: 39% (international recruitment hit by the pandemic)
- 2021: 37%
- 2022: 35%
- 2023: 33%
The decline, though gradual, amounts to an 11‑percentage‑point contraction over five years. Over the same period, job vacancies in large enterprises across Hong Kong’s overall employment market also fell, affected by rising interest rates and weak external trade in 2022–2023 (Census and Statistics Department, Quarterly Report of Employment and Vacancies Statistics).
SMEs become the main absorbers
Enterprises with fewer than 50 employees have significantly increased their absorption of non‑local graduates:
- 2020: 34%
- 2021: 37%
- 2022: 43% (overtook large enterprises for the first time)
- 2023: 52%
Behind this turning point lies the accelerated digital transformation of local SMEs in the post‑pandemic period, fuelling demand for non‑local graduates with skills in data analytics, e‑commerce and social media operations. In addition, cross‑border SME trading firms, education providers and start‑ups targeting the GBA market have shown a stronger preference for mainland‑background graduates familiar with both cultures, pushing the SME employment share higher. A 2023 survey of non‑local employees at start‑ups in Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport also indicated that close to 60% of those employed held IANG visas.
Self‑employment and start‑up diversion
A further channel that cannot be ignored is self‑employment and start‑up formation. IANG holders are free to change jobs or become self‑employed during their stay, with no employer‑binding condition. According to ImmD extension‑of‑stay data, cases where IANG extensions were filed on a self‑employed basis accounted for 12% of total extensions in 2023, double the 6% recorded in 2019. Among incubation programmes jointly supported by InvestHK and Cyberport, more than 320 start‑ups were founded or joined by non‑local graduates in 2023, with concentrations in fintech, green technology and cultural and creative industries.
Data summary table (2020–2023)
1、 2019 · IANG approvals: 10,992 · Big Three share: — · SME employment: 31% · MNC employment: 44% · Remarks: Pre‑pandemic baseline 2、 2020 · IANG approvals: 9,754 · Big Three share: 55.2% · SME employment: 34% · MNC employment: 39% · Remarks: Pandemic impact; approvals down 11.3% 3、 2021 · IANG approvals: 9,889 · Big Three share: ~53% (est.) · SME employment: 37% · MNC employment: 37% · Remarks: Low‑level recovery; SME share catches MNCs for first time 4、 2022 · IANG approvals: 21,394 · Big Three share: 48.6% · SME employment: 43% · MNC employment: 35% · Remarks: GBA campuses included; total approvals double 5、 2023 · IANG approvals: 26,345 · Big Three share: 45.3% · SME employment: 52% · MNC employment: 33% · Remarks: Unconditional first two years; SME share exceeds half 6、 2024 (proj.) · IANG approvals: ≈29,000–30,000 · Big Three share: Trending down · SME employment: Trending up · MNC employment: Trending down · Remarks: Q1 applications up 17% (EDB)
(Data sources: ImmD annual reports, UGC Graduate Employment Surveys, Census and Statistics Department Quarterly Report of Employment and Vacancies Statistics. Big Three shares are approximate calculations based on institutional enrolment data and ImmD classifications.)
A brief look at policy drivers
Three critical adjustments to the IANG framework within five years – GBA campus extension, doubling of the initial stay period and removal of the first‑year job offer requirement – form the underlying logic of the surge in approvals. At the same time, the expansion of the Hong Kong Talent List (to 13 professions in 2021 and further updated to 51 professions in 2023), while not directly linked to the IANG,