Following the second reading of the Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024 (“Bill”) to implement the inward company redomiciliation regime, the Bill has now been passed by the Legislative Council on 14 May 2025. A non-Hong Kong incorporated company will now be able to transfer its domicile i.e. “place of incorporation” to Hong Kong, from the date that the corresponding Amendment Ordinance is published in the Government Gazette which will be on 23 May 2025.
To qualify for inward redomiciliation, a company must satisfy a number of requirements. Please refer to our client alert issued on 8 May 2025 for more information.
The new regime allows inward redomiciliation only. Applications can be made from non-Hong Kong incorporated companies whose original place of domicile allows the transfer of domicile to another jurisdiction. Jurisdictions which currently allow outward redomiciliation include the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Delaware (USA).
Once an application has been submitted to the Companies Registry, it is expected that the Registrar of Companies will generally approve the application within two weeks of receipt of all necessary information and documents. Further information will be available from the Companies Registry website which is expected to provide guidance on the application process, application fee and supporting documents.
For further information, please contact:
Machiuanna Chu, Partner, Deacons
machiuanna.chu@deacons.com
