In July, universities in Hong Kong began closing their doors and enrolling non-local students. More and more non-local students are choosing Hong Kong as their study destination as the city’s education becomes increasingly competitive internationally, according to local media.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) expects to admit 450 mainland students in the new academic year, up more than 10 percent from this year, according to wenhui.com, which has compiled the enrollment information of many universities in Hong Kong. The school said it would increase its overall non-local places year by year. In addition to mainland students, the number of non-local students from other regions enrolled in the school in the 2026/2027 academic year has also increased by more than 20% year on year, reaching a record high.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is also seeing more applications from mainland students this year than the same period last year, with the sharpest increases in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Sichuan-chongqing regions. It expects to admit about 300 mainland students for the college entrance examination. For international students, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology received applications from more than 120 countries and regions, representing a significant increase over the same period last year.
The University of Hong Kong said it would recruit top students from the mainland through the diversified admission scheme and the principal recommendation scheme. It is expected that about 60 percent of the non-local students to be enrolled in the new academic year will be from the mainland.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University received a record number of applications from more than 22,000 non-local students for first-year undergraduate programmes in the 2026/2027 academic year, with an increase of more than 70 per cent in the number of international students.
Hong Kong Baptist University said it has received about 11,500 applications from mainland students. The university admitted more than 600 mainland students this academic year and plans to expand its enrollment in the 2026/2027 academic year to about 700 students. Hong Kong Baptist University also received more than 1,200 applications from international students, up 40% from last year.
Hong Kong education university said its enrollment of non-local students has continued to rise in recent years and has a diverse student body, including Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Pakistan, Vietnam and other places.
City University of Hong Kong says it is popular with both local and non-local students. It admits far more applicants each year than it admits, and the number of non-local students (both Mainland and international) has been steadily increasing.
In an effort to strengthen Hong Kong’s position as an international higher education hub, the city’s eight public universities have increased the maximum number of self-funded non-local undergraduates from 40% to 50% since the new academic year in September, local media said. At the same time, a number of universities have actively launched a variety of scholarships and accommodation facilities, combined with the excellent educational environment to increase the“Study in Hong Kong” practical appeal.
A number of Hong Kong universities have set up different levels of admission scholarships for outstanding non-local students. Lingnan University offers more than 950 scholarships and awards worth HK $27 million, this year, it launched the“Ding Zhaozhong Elite Class” to provide four years of full tuition and accommodation for outstanding students, Artificial Intelligence -AIB-AI) training provided by top companies, PriorityrResearchaOpportunitiesties, and exchanges with Nobel Prize winners. The University of Hong Kong offers scholarships and exchange grants to the top 1% of students admitted to elite mainland high schools each year through the Middlebury student programme.
In terms of new dorms, HKUST said its Jockey Club Student Village closed in June, adding 1,551 new places, bringing the total on campus to more than 6,000. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is building two new dormitory projects that will provide about 2,900 additional accommodations, bringing the total to about 7,500. The total number of residential places in the City University of Hong Kong will be increased to about 7690 upon completion of the sixth phase of the Kowloon Tong Hostel. The number of residential places in the Hong Kong Baptist University will be increased to 3700 in the new academic year, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and its colleges provide about 10,000 on-campus places and the number will gradually increase. In the allocation of places, HKU, HKUST and polyu all guarantee on-campus places for first-year non-local undergraduate students, while HKEDU guarantees places for the first two years for non-local students in the new academic year.
With the increase of non-local students, Hong Kong universities have paid more attention to the problem of fraud against international students. The Chinese University of Hong Kong said that it would promote the anti-fraud learning kit through various channels, and at the same time cooperate with the Hong Kong Police Force, all freshmen will be required to complete the“Cheat Awareness Test” and related assessments within a specified period of time from the new school year. The University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology said they would hold anti-fraud seminars to raise awareness among non-local students.
In terms of employment support in Hong Kong, the City University of Hong Kong provides non-local students with job search strategies, interview skills and one-on-one career counselling services to help them understand Hong Kong’s workplace culture. The University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Baptist University will also provide career guidance to help students identify their career paths. Hong Kong media commented that the multi-pronged approach, “Study in Hong Kong,” the golden signboard has been further polished.