Moving to Hong Kong from the UK: the practical guide

Hong Kong at a glance

Start with the visa

UK citizens can visit Hong Kong without a visa, but you need an employment or talent visa to live and work there. Most people come with a job offer; Hong Kong also runs schemes for high earners and graduates that do not need one.

Source: UpperSetup, August 2026. Each applicant, including each dependant, pays a HK$600 application fee and a visa fee. Check current rules with the Immigration Department.

Rules to know once you live there

• Get your Hong Kong identity card. Anyone staying more than 180 days must register for one within 30 days of arriving.
• Permanent residence comes after seven years of continuous ordinary residence. Non-Chinese permanent residents can lose the right of abode after 36 months away.
• Changing jobs means a new application. Most employment visas are tied to your employer, so your new employer must apply again before you start.
• Read the FCDO’s advice. Hong Kong’s national security laws apply to everyone in the territory; read the travel advice before you move.

Cost of living

Housing dominates the budget. A two-bedroom flat of 750 to 1,000 square feet in Mid-Levels typically costs HK$35,000 to HK$55,000 a month (about £3,365 to £5,290), and rents have been rising as more expats arrive.

Indicative rents for early 2026 from HK Guide. Hong Kong’s official rental index reached a record in the second quarter of 2026, and luxury rents are forecast to rise about 5% in 2026 (JLL, August 2026). Sterling figures use HK$10.40 to the pound; the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar.

What works differently from the UK

• Flats are measured in square feet, and are much smaller than UK homes at the same price. View several before you decide.
• Leases usually run for two years, with the rent fixed and a break clause after the first year on two months’ notice. Expect a deposit of two months’ rent and an agent’s fee of half to one month’s rent.
• Check what the rent includes. Management fees are usually included, but government rates are sometimes passed on to the tenant.
• There is no VAT or sales tax, so prices are as marked.
• Many families employ a live-in domestic helper, which is affordable by UK standards but makes you an employer with legal duties.
• Eating out ranges from cheap to very expensive, and imported groceries cost more than in the UK.
• Housing allowances are common. Ask whether your package includes one; for senior roles in finance it can be large.

Buying a home

Foreigners can buy property in Hong Kong on the same terms as residents. The extra stamp duties on non-resident and short-term buyers were scrapped in 2024, so buyers now pay standard stamp duty. Banks lend to residents with a Hong Kong income, but most expats rent, given how long it takes to recover buying costs.

Tax

Hong Kong taxes salaries only, and only on work done in Hong Kong. You pay the lower of two calculations: sliding-scale rates on income after allowances, or a flat standard rate on income before allowances. There is no VAT, capital gains tax, tax on dividends or interest, or inheritance tax.

The standard rate is 15% on the first HK$5 million of net income and 16% above that; you pay whichever calculation gives less tax. The basic allowance for 2026–27 is HK$145,000, with larger allowances for a married couple and for each child. Source: PKF Hong Kong, May 2026.

Points that catch UK arrivals out

• Tax is not taken from your pay. There is no PAYE. You file a return each May and pay later, along with “provisional tax” in advance for the following year. Set money aside every month.
• The tax year is the same as the UK’s, from 1 April to 31 March.
• Hong Kong taxes where the work is done. Income from a Hong Kong job is taxed there; most foreign investment income is not taxed at all.
• Leaving needs tax clearance. Your employer must tell the Inland Revenue Department at least a month before you leave and hold back your final pay until your tax is settled.
• Compulsory pension contributions come off your pay (see Pensions).

Leaving the UK tax system

Tell HMRC you are going. Most people do this with form P85, which can also trigger a refund for the year you leave. You will still pay UK tax on UK income such as rent from a property you keep. A UK–Hong Kong double taxation agreement stops the same income being taxed twice. Take advice from an accountant who handles both before you move, not after.

Healthcare

Once you hold a Hong Kong identity card, you can use the public hospital system at heavily subsidised rates. Care is excellent, but waits for non-urgent treatment can be long, so most expats also have private insurance, usually through their employer.

Source: Hospital Authority. Fees were reformed in January 2026; the most urgent emergency cases pay no A&E fee.

How cover works

• Get your ID card quickly. Until you have it, you pay the much higher rates for non-eligible patients, so arrange travel or international cover for your first weeks.
• Private care is fast but expensive. Private hospitals and clinics are widely used by expats, with GP visits and specialist fees costing far more than in the public system.
• Check your employer’s plan. Ask whether it covers your partner and children, outpatient visits, maternity and dental care, and what the limits are.
• Consider extra cover. International plans can add treatment in the UK and continue if you leave your job.

There is no reciprocal health agreement between the UK and Hong Kong. Some UK medicines are controlled in Hong Kong, so carry prescriptions and check the rules before you travel.

Schools and the school year

Most British families choose an international school or one run by the English Schools Foundation (ESF), the largest group of English-medium schools in Hong Kong. Many follow the English National Curriculum or the IB, with a school year from August to June. Fees are high, and the extra costs of a place can be even higher.

Source: Sassy Mama HK, July 2026. Fees rise with your child’s year group.

What else to know

• Debentures and levies are a big extra cost. Many schools charge an annual capital levy unless a debenture is held, and debentures or nomination rights can cost from HK$400,000 to several million. Some guarantee or speed up a place. Ask whether your employer will buy one.
• Apply early. Popular schools have long waiting lists, especially at entry points such as Reception and Year 7. Many will interview and assess online before you move.
• ESF schools are the closest to a UK education at a lower price, but places are in high demand.
• Local schools teach mainly in Cantonese or Chinese, so few expat families use them, although some offer English-language streams.
• Think ahead to university. Children who have lived abroad may be charged international rather than home fees at UK universities, depending on how long they have been away.

Driving

Hong Kong drives on the left, as in the UK, but few expats need a car. The MTR, buses, trams, ferries and taxis are cheap and efficient, while owning a car is expensive and parking scarce.

Your licence

• You can drive on your UK licence for up to 12 months after arriving.
• Exchange it within your first year and you get a full Hong Kong licence without a test. The UK is one of the countries whose licences can be exchanged. Conditions include having lived in the UK when the licence was issued, or having held it for some years. Wait longer than 12 months and you must pass written and road tests.
• What to bring. Your UK photocard licence, Hong Kong ID card or passport, the application form and proof of address from the last three months.

Source: Expat.com. Check current conditions and fees with the Transport Department.

What a car really costs

New cars pay a first registration tax charged at a high percentage of their value, and a parking space in a residential building can cost thousands of Hong Kong dollars a month, or be bought outright for the price of a small flat in the UK. Many families who do drive choose a small car or an electric car, which pays less tax.

Road rules worth knowing

• Speed and red-light cameras are common, and penalties include points as well as fines.
• Drink-driving limits are strict and enforced with random breath tests.
• Tunnels and some roads are tolled, paid electronically with a tag.

Should you ship your car?

UK right-hand-drive cars suit Hong Kong’s roads, but first registration tax and the cost of parking mean shipping a car rarely makes sense. Ask us if you are considering it, or see our vehicle shipping guide.

Pensions

Hong Kong has no state pension like the UK’s. Instead, most employees and employers pay into the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), a workplace savings scheme. There is no social security agreement with the UK.

Your UK State Pension

• It is paid in Hong Kong, but frozen. You cannot get annual increases there; the rate you first receive is the rate you keep. See State Pension if you retire abroad.
• You need 35 qualifying years for the full amount and at least 10 to get anything. Check your forecast before you leave.
• Topping up from abroad became harder and dearer on 6 April 2026. Cheap Class 2 voluntary contributions are no longer available for time abroad. You can pay Class 3 only if you lived in the UK for 10 years in a row or paid 10 years of contributions. See voluntary National Insurance if you live abroad.

The Mandatory Provident Fund

• You and your employer each pay 5% of your salary, up to a monthly cap, into an MPF scheme you choose investments for. Many employers pay more as a benefit.
• New arrivals may be exempt at first. If you come to Hong Kong to work and belong to an overseas pension scheme, you may be exempt from MPF for your first 13 months.
• You can usually take your MPF savings when you leave Hong Kong permanently, with a statutory declaration, or at 65.

Check the rules with the MPF Schemes Authority.

Your UK workplace and private pensions

These can stay invested in the UK and be paid to you in Hong Kong. Moving a UK pension abroad usually triggers a 25% overseas transfer charge unless you live in the same country as the scheme. Use a regulated adviser, and read GOV.UK on transferring to an overseas pension scheme first.

Shipping your home

Hong Kong is a free port, so household goods pay no duty or import tax and customs clearance is usually quick. The real challenges are delivery: lifts, narrow roads, building rules and the typhoon season.

Customs

• No duty on household goods. Furniture, clothes and personal effects come in free.
• Some goods are dutiable: alcohol, tobacco, hydrocarbon oils and methyl alcohol. Duty on wine has been cut, but spirits are taxed heavily, so tell us if you are shipping a collection.
• We handle the paperwork, from UK export documents to Hong Kong import entry.

Delivery to your new home

• Lift size decides what fits. We measure lift height and door width at survey. Older buildings without service lifts may need items hoisted, which needs permission and insurance.
• Some areas cannot take full-size lorries. Parts of Mid-Levels, the Peak, Sai Kung and village lanes need smaller shuttle vehicles.
• Buildings set the rules. Many limit moves to certain days and hours and ask for insurance certificates and a deposit.
• Islands need boats. Discovery Bay has no private cars, and Lamma and Cheung Chau have no vehicles, so deliveries go by ferry or barge.

Sea freight and typhoons

Sea freight takes 7 to 9 weeks door to door in a sole-use container and 8 to 11 weeks shared, or a week or so longer for the outlying islands. Air freight takes 4 to 7 days. From May to October, typhoon signals can close the port and stop deliveries for a day or more. Our Hong Kong shipping guide has the detail.

Pets

Cats and dogs coming directly from the UK are normally exempt from quarantine if they meet all the permit conditions.

• Get a special permit from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) before you book flights. It costs HK$432 for one animal, takes about five working days and is valid for six months.
• Meet the health conditions on the permit, which can include vaccinations and blood tests, and bring an official health certificate.
• Get it right first time. Pets without the correct papers can face at least four months’ quarantine or be sent back.
• Check your building. Some housing, especially some older buildings and government-subsidised estates, does not allow dogs.

Source: AFCD. Read the full permit terms before you travel.

Useful links

These are the official sources we point clients to. Rules change, so check them close to your move date.

This guide is general information for people planning a move, correct to the best of our knowledge in October 2026. It is not tax, pension, legal or immigration advice. Rules and figures change, so check the official sources linked above and take professional advice on your own circumstances.