The two-day IMPEX 2026 International Immigration & Property Expo opened at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre on 18 April, drawing more than 100 exhibitors from 40-plus jurisdictions and thousands of high-net-worth visitors looking for residency, education and wealth-planning options overseas. Organisers say registrations from Hongkongers aged 60 and above have doubled year-on-year, while those with assets exceeding HK$30 million have surged, underlining strong demand for “golden visa” pathways and retirement havens. Australia has overtaken Britain as the top migration destination among preregistered attendees (38 % versus 36 %), with Southeast Asian programmes—in particular Malaysia’s MM2H and the Philippines’ newly relaxed Special Resident Retiree Visa—also recording a dramatic rise in interest. Industry speakers attributed the shift to more competitive tax regimes, lower living costs and persistent concerns about policy stability in traditional Western markets. More than 50 seminars cover pitfalls in overseas property purchases, cross-border tax exposure, succession planning and the practicalities of moving staff or family abroad. Law firms and relocation consultants report brisk bookings for one-on-one consultations on new EU digital-nomad permits and the United States’ EB-5 reform.
![IMPEX 2026 kicks off in Hong Kong, signalling boom in outbound migration and asset diversification]()
Amid this surge in mobility planning, many attendees noted that platforms like VisaHQ can dramatically shorten the research curve. The company’s Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) consolidates real-time visa requirements for hundreds of destinations and offers document checks, courier pick-up and expedited filing options—services that prove invaluable for investors chasing tight golden-visa quotas or HR teams juggling multiple staff relocations.
Event partner Invest HK is using the expo to court returning entrepreneurs by showcasing Hong Kong’s Top Talent Pass Scheme and its revamped Capital Investment Entrant Scheme. For corporate mobility teams the expo offers a barometer of employee sentiment: rising attendance by mid-career professionals suggests talent-retention challenges may intensify. HR leaders attending the sessions noted growing interest in split-location work models, whereby staff spend part of the year in lower-tax jurisdictions while maintaining Asia-Pacific client coverage. Travel managers should also watch visa-processing timelines: exhibitors warned that global demand is lengthening queue times for Canadian start-up visas and Portugal’s revamped residency-by-investment programme, meaning assignees hoping to relocate by early-2027 need to start paperwork now.
Amid this surge in mobility planning, many attendees noted that platforms like VisaHQ can dramatically shorten the research curve. The company’s Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) consolidates real-time visa requirements for hundreds of destinations and offers document checks, courier pick-up and expedited filing options—services that prove invaluable for investors chasing tight golden-visa quotas or HR teams juggling multiple staff relocations.
Event partner Invest HK is using the expo to court returning entrepreneurs by showcasing Hong Kong’s Top Talent Pass Scheme and its revamped Capital Investment Entrant Scheme. For corporate mobility teams the expo offers a barometer of employee sentiment: rising attendance by mid-career professionals suggests talent-retention challenges may intensify. HR leaders attending the sessions noted growing interest in split-location work models, whereby staff spend part of the year in lower-tax jurisdictions while maintaining Asia-Pacific client coverage. Travel managers should also watch visa-processing timelines: exhibitors warned that global demand is lengthening queue times for Canadian start-up visas and Portugal’s revamped residency-by-investment programme, meaning assignees hoping to relocate by early-2027 need to start paperwork now.
