Which Degrees Qualify for Hong Kong QMAS in 2026? Eligible University and STEM Data

Under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS), a degree is not counted only by level. It is counted by where it was awarded and what it was in. According to the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s “Visas” page under Facts and Statistics, as of its 17 August 2026 update, 4,414 of the successful QMAS cases in 2025 held a master’s or doctoral degree awarded by an eligible university, and 3,541 of those were pertinent to STEM — science, technology, engineering or mathematics. For January to June 2026, the same two categories recorded 1,388 and 1,123.

What exactly do the QMAS degree figures count?

The qualification breakdown for QMAS is published for cases processed under the criteria and procedures introduced with the scheme’s enhancement measures, and the numbers count successful cases that passed the selection exercise, not applications submitted.

Degree category	2025	2026 (Jan–Jun)
Master’s or doctoral degree awarded by an eligible university	4,414	1,388
Same, where the degree is pertinent to STEM (science, technology, engineering or mathematics)	3,541	1,123
All successful QMAS cases (by region and industry breakdowns)	7,101	1,940

The two degree rows are the only qualification categories published for those cases. The third row is the total reported across the scheme’s other breakdowns, which gives the scale the degree counts sit against: roughly 62% of the 7,101 successful cases in 2025, and roughly 72% of the 1,940 reported for the first half of 2026.

One caveat matters here. The degree rows cover cases processed under the enhanced criteria, while the 7,101 and 1,940 totals cover all successful cases in the same periods. Read the comparison as an order of magnitude, not as a precise ratio.

Is the STEM number additional to the eligible-university number?

No. The second row is a subset of the first, not a separate group. The published wording is cumulative: a degree “awarded by an eligible university” that “is pertinent to STEM”. Adding 4,414 and 3,541 would double-count the same people.

That nesting is itself the most useful number in the table. STEM cases account for about 80% of the eligible-university master’s and doctoral cases in 2025 (3,541 of 4,414), and about 81% in January–June 2026 (1,123 of 1,388). Of the degrees the scheme singles out, the large majority are also the ones with a science, technology, engineering or mathematics subject.

Does any other Hong Kong scheme report degrees this way?

No other scheme on the same page breaks degrees down by institution or subject. Every other scheme that publishes a qualification breakdown reports it by level only; the Top Talent Pass Scheme, also on the page, publishes no qualification breakdown.

Scheme	How the official page breaks down qualifications
General Employment Policy	Doctorate / Master’s / Bachelor’s or equivalent / Other
Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals	Doctorate / Master’s / Bachelor’s or equivalent / Other
Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates	Doctorate / Master’s / Bachelor’s / Other at degree level
Technology Talent Admission Scheme	Doctorate / Master’s / Bachelor’s or equivalent / Other
Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents	Doctorate / Master’s / Bachelor’s or equivalent / Other
Top Talent Pass Scheme	No academic-qualification breakdown (region, preceding-year income and industry/sector only)
Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (post-enhancement cases)	Eligible-university master’s or doctorate; STEM subset

QMAS is therefore the only scheme whose published statistics treat the awarding institution and the subject field as reportable attributes of the degree. That is what makes it a degree-recognition scheme as much as a talent scheme.

Where does the industry breakdown fit?

The scheme also reports successful cases by declared industry, and the two largest sectors are not the ones readers usually expect from a STEM story.

Industry/sector	2025	2026 (Jan–Jun)
Financial and Accounting Services	2,524	767
Information Technology and Telecommunications	1,864	538
Others	1,904	428
Commerce and Trade	558	137
Architecture, Surveying, Engineering and Construction	196	60
Arts and Culture	55	10

These are separate breakdowns of the same population, so they cannot be cross-joined case by case. A candidate counted in the STEM row is not necessarily counted in Information Technology and Telecommunications, and a finance-sector candidate is not necessarily outside the STEM row. What can be said is that degree provenance and industry are recorded independently, and both show up in the published results.

What does this imply if you are choosing a degree now?

The published categories effectively name three attributes that the scheme records about a degree. Working backwards from them is the practical use of these figures:

• Check whether the qualification falls in the categories the statistics actually record — a master’s or doctoral degree from an eligible university — while noting that the published data does not state the scheme’s minimum academic requirement.
• Confirm the awarding institution falls within the scheme’s definition of an eligible university.
• Confirm whether the subject maps to science, technology, engineering or mathematics.
• Confirm both points against the Immigration Department’s current QMAS publications before relying on them.

These figures use the category “eligible university” without reproducing its definition, and the page does not list institutions. The scheme’s own definition is set out in the Immigration Department’s QMAS materials, and the current version published there governs.

What these figures do not tell you

They count successful cases only. The page publishes no figures on applications received, selection rounds held, refusal rates, quotas, processing times or government fees, so nothing here should be read as an approval probability. The qualification rows also appear only for cases processed under the enhanced criteria, which means earlier cases are excluded from them. Half-year figures for 2026 cover six months and are not comparable to a full calendar year without that adjustment in mind. This article is general information drawn from published statistics rather than advice on an individual case; for decisions about a specific application, rely on the official publications or on a qualified professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does QMAS require a degree from an eligible university?

The published statistics do not state a minimum requirement, and this page should not be read as one. What they show is that among successful cases processed under the enhanced criteria, 4,414 in 2025 and 1,388 in January–June 2026 held a master’s or doctoral degree from an eligible university. The scheme’s entry requirements are set out in its own official materials.

Can I add the 4,414 and 3,541 together?

No. The STEM row is a subset of the eligible-university row, describing the same cases in more detail. Adding them would count the same people twice. The correct reading is that 3,541 of the 4,414 were STEM-related.

Do bachelor’s degrees appear in the QMAS qualification data?

Not in the published breakdown for cases processed under the enhanced criteria, which lists only the two eligible-university master’s and doctoral categories. Other schemes on the same page do publish bachelor’s rows. The absence of a row here is a fact about what is published, not proof about how any individual case would be assessed.

What counts as STEM here?

The official page defines it in the row label itself: science, technology, engineering or mathematics. It is a subject attribute attached to the degree, and it only appears alongside the eligible-university category, never on its own.

How many QMAS cases succeeded in 2026 so far?

Successful cases passing the selection exercise totalled 1,940 for January to June 2026, against 7,101 for the whole of 2025. These are counts of successful cases, not of applications, and the half-year figure covers six months only.

Where can I check the current list of eligible universities?

These statistics do not include one. The definition and any list behind the term “eligible university” are set out in the Immigration Department’s QMAS publications, and the version current at the time you apply is the one that applies.

References

• Immigration Department — Visas: Facts and Statistics
• 入境事務處 — 簽證：數據資料