Hong Kong’s Eastern Magistrates’ Court on 10 November bound over a 32-year-old mainland woman for two years and fined her HK$2,000 after she admitted using a forged master’s-degree certificate to obtain residency under the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS). The defendant presented a counterfeit University of Warwick diploma when applying for the two-year visa, which grants open work rights and a pathway to permanent residence.
Immigration investigators uncovered the fraud during a routine renewal review, flagging inconsistencies in academic transcripts. The case is the first TTPS conviction since the scheme’s December 2022 launch and follows government pledges to crack down on “loopholes” after social-media tutorials advertised fake documentation services.
![Visa-fraud case highlights tighter scrutiny of Hong Kong’s Top Talent Pass Scheme]()
Officials stressed that only “a small minority” abuse the programme, which has approved about 110,000 applications to date, 79 % of them from mainland China. Nevertheless, the incident is likely to prompt stricter document-verification requirements and longer processing times, particularly for applicants from non-UK universities that lack online credential databases.
Employers using TTPS to fast-track hires should budget additional lead time and consider third-party background checks before issuing employment contracts. Under Hong Kong law, providing false information to immigration authorities carries a maximum penalty of a HK$150,000 fine and 14 years’ imprisonment.
Immigration investigators uncovered the fraud during a routine renewal review, flagging inconsistencies in academic transcripts. The case is the first TTPS conviction since the scheme’s December 2022 launch and follows government pledges to crack down on “loopholes” after social-media tutorials advertised fake documentation services.
Officials stressed that only “a small minority” abuse the programme, which has approved about 110,000 applications to date, 79 % of them from mainland China. Nevertheless, the incident is likely to prompt stricter document-verification requirements and longer processing times, particularly for applicants from non-UK universities that lack online credential databases.
Employers using TTPS to fast-track hires should budget additional lead time and consider third-party background checks before issuing employment contracts. Under Hong Kong law, providing false information to immigration authorities carries a maximum penalty of a HK$150,000 fine and 14 years’ imprisonment.
