Hong Kong universities to admit more non-local students from 2026

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong universities will be allowed to admit self-financing non-local students up to 50 percent of local student places starting from the 2026/27 school year, John Lee, chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said while delivering his policy address on Wednesday.

"Universities in Hong Kong are highly popular, with a double-digit year-on-year increase in the number of self-financing non-local applicants," Lee said.

The current cap of non-local student intake stands at 40 percent of local places. Meanwhile, the over-enrolment ceiling for self-financing places in funded research postgraduate programs will be increased from 100 percent to 120 percent, he said.

To attract more international teaching and research talents and students, the Education Bureau of the HKSAR government will establish the Task Force on Study in Hong Kong. Relevant measures include rolling out the "Hong Kong: Your World-class Campus" large-scale publicity campaign to promote Hong Kong's quality resources in areas such as academic studies, scientific research and international cooperation.