A scheme to encourage professionals from China's mainland to seek their career fortunes in Hong Kong has been launched.

Part of the lure to attract talent is the promise of permanent residency for those who spend seven years in the Special Administrative Region.

The exit-entry administration authorities of the mainland and Hong Kong adopted the new policy to encourage more mainland professionals to relocate.

To meet local manpower needs and enhance its competitiveness in the global market, on July 15 the Immigration Department of Hong Kong began to implement the Admission Scheme for Mainland Professionals.

Those mainland professionals eligible for the scheme must possess skills and knowledge not readily available or in short supply in Hong Kong.

Admitted professionals must contribute to the operation of the firms and sectors concerned with a view to facilitating economic development in Hong Kong.

It also caters for the entry of professionals in fields of the arts, culture and sports as well as those with culinary expertise.

According to the new scheme, no threshold will be set on the profession and number of mainland professionals. Moreover, those from the mainland accepted by the scheme can be joined by their spouses or children under 18.

Those mainland professionals who work in the SAR for seven years will be eligible to apply for permanent Hong Kong residency, under the scheme.

Just a week before the implementation of it, the Bureau of Exit-Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security also adopted complementary measures to co-ordinate Hong Kong's new policy.

Mainland professionals who are interested in applying should submit their applications to HK employers or universities who in turn will present the application forms to the Hong Kong Immigration Department.

Hong Kong manpower experts say the scheme will encourage more mainland professionals to further their careers by moving to Hong Kong.

Commercial organizations on the island also expressed their welcome and enthusiasm for the scheme, said a senior official with Hong Kong's immigration department .

It will take applicants four weeks to complete the application procedure. On this basis officials with the immigration departments estimate the first mainland professionals, if everything goes smoothly, will reach Hong Kong in late August.

During the first half year, Hong Kong remained, among 179 countries and regions, the No 1 exit destination for mainland talents, latest statistics from the Ministry of Public Security indicated.

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