The Government announced today the expansion of the Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Persons Participating in Arbitral Proceedings in Hong Kong.

The Department of Justice outlined that the new measures provide greater convenience to those covered by the scheme, incentivising them to choose Hong Kong as a place to conduct arbitration and bolstering the city's competitiveness as an arbitral seat.

The Government said that since its regularisation last year, the scheme has been welcomed by the legal and dispute resolution sector and the international arbitration community, adding that its facilitation of international and cross-border arbitral proceedings in Hong Kong has strengthened the city’s position as a premier international arbitration hub.

The scheme's expansion means it now covers arbitral proceedings that occur physically, or in hybrid fashion, in Hong Kong, and are administered by dispute resolution institutions or permanent offices set up in the Chinese Mainland, Macao, Taiwan or overseas, supported by a designated arbitral and dispute resolution institution in Hong Kong under the "Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region".

The Governement explained that "supported by" means that such an institution will provide venue, hearing or meeting facilities, in addition to ancillary services, such as those provided by tribunal reporters and interpreters, translators and caterers, to support arbitrations.

For proceedings newly covered under the scheme's expansion, arbitral and dispute resolution institutions offering support are required to verify the identities of participants in arbitral proceedings.