HONG Kong yesterday opened its doors wider to foreign talent by relaxing the admission criteria for a scheme which lets non-residents settle there without first getting a job.

Previously, applicants had to be under 50. The age limit has now been abolished.

Also, under the revised Quality Migrant Scheme (QMS), those proficient in either Chinese or English would score higher points than previously.

The scheme allows up to 1,000 applicants a year to be residents in the city without having to secure a job beforehand. It was introduced in 2006, but came up for review after just 322 successful candidates emerged from around 1,250 applicants. Most of the successful applicants were from the mainland.

"Modifying the QMS will help Hong Kong compete better with the world in attracting foreign talent," Mr Henry Fan, who chairs the city's advisory body on foreign talent admission, said in a press briefing.

Hong Kong, like many developed cities such as Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore, is looking to foreign talent to maintain its competitiveness as it grapples with a low birth rate and an ageing population.

The scheme involves a scoring system based on age, work experience, professional qualifications and language proficiency.

Other changes announced yesterday included lowering the minimum period of work experience from five to two years. The government has also scrapped the need for successful candidates to find a job within a year after being admitted to Hong Kong.

Candidates can now stay for as long as they like ? so long as they can support themselves and their dependents.

Hong Kong's scheme has no direct equivalent in Singapore, but the Republic is trying similar ways to lure talent, and for similar reasons.

Last year in Singapore, a new Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) was introduced for selected employment pass holders and for foreign students from institutions of higher learning in Singapore.

The PEP lets them stay for up to six months while between jobs. Unlike the regular employment pass, it is not tied to a specific employer, which means the PEP holder can change jobs with greater ease.

Hong Kong's new QMS rules come after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told the territory's Chief Executive Donald Tsang in November that the city's need to boost its talent pool in the face of competition from countries like Singapore was "urgent".

Analysts say that among the key obstacles to attracting talent to Hong Kong are the city's high cost of living, high levels of air pollution and a lack of places at international schools.

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