How to Redomicile to Hong Kong

Since passing its company re-domiciliation legislation in May 2025, Hong Kong has moved quickly to make itself a more practical base for overseas companies that want stronger access to Asia. The new legislation gives eligible foreign businesses a way to transfer their legal domicile to Hong Kong while preserving corporate continuity, helping the city attract foreign capital and reinforce its role as a regional headquarters location. 

This brief guide explains how re-domiciliation to Hong Kong works, including the conditions to clear and documents to prepare, and what happens after registration.

Is Your Company Eligible for Redomiciliation?

Before beginning the redomiciliation process, your company must fulfil certain requirements: 

1. You must be allowed by the current jurisdiction of your incorporated company to re-domicile to another jurisdiction. Some common offshore jurisdictions like the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda have arrangements that allow outbound re-domiciliation.
2. The company type you are registering in Hong Kong is the same or substantially the same as that of your company’s place of incorporation
3. As of the date of application, the company has completed its first financial year since incorporation
4. The application is made in good faith, and not intended to defraud its existing creditors
5. That the consent of company members have been obtained as according to the law of the company’s current place of incorporation and under the CO
6. The company can pay its debts due within 12 months of the application date
7. The company is not in liquidation or is facing any proceedings for liquidations
8. Your board of directors must issue a signed certificate of approval to proceed with the resolution to demoncile the company within 35 days before applying.

Applying for Redomiciliation and all Relevant Documents 

To apply for redomiciliation, you will need to submit Form NNC6, the proposed articles of association, supporting documents under Schedule 6C, and form IRBR5 for business registration. You can submit the application by post or in person to the Companies Registry, or fill it online at the e-Services Portal. 

Form NNC6 – Re-domiciliation Form

Signed by one director, this form is used to identify the existing foreign company to be redomiciled, and provide details to the nature of business, officers, and relevant compliance statements.

Should you wish to use a different company name in Hong Kong compared to the original name, the change must also be approved by your board, and ensure that the name change will not affect deregistration in your original jurisdiction.

Directors that wish to continue the role after re-domiciliation need to sign a consent statement as part of Form NNC6, or file Form NNC3RD within 15 days after the Certificate of Re-domiciliation is issued.

Proposed Articles of Association

Submit a copy of the proposed articles of association that your board of directors approved for adoption post-redomiciliation. You can find sample articles for private and public companies on the CR website to reference when preparing articles that fit your company’s structure and governance model.

Notice to Business Registration Office – IRBR5

Submit form IRBR5, which handles business registration, together with form NNC6, so your company’s re-domiciliation and business registration can be handled through the Company Registry, allowing you to process both re-domiciliation documents and the business registration at once.

What Happens Once Redomiciliation is Successful?

Once your application has been approved, your company will receive a Certificate of Re-domiciliation and a Business Registration Certificate where applicable in hardcopy or digital format. Companies previously registered in Hong Kong as a registered non-Hong Kong company will lose that status once your Certificate of Re-domiciliation is issued.

Deregistration

Once your company has been redomiciled, you will be expected to deregister your company from the origin country within 120 days, with sufficient evidence provided to the CR. Extensions may be granted upon request. Failing to do so may result in the revocation of your re-domiciliation registration.

General Filing Obligations

As a newly re-domiciled Hong Kong company, you will be expected to meet the filing obligations of typical limited companies in Hong Kong, such as [examples of obligations, link to articles], on top of the previously mentioned Director’s consent form, and Form NSC21, which details your share capital at the re-domiciliation date, and the particulars of members of the company. Both Director’s consent and Form NSC21 must be submitted within 15 days after re-domiciliation.

Dealing with Existing Charges

If you have any existing charges created before re-domiciliation, you will need to register them with the Companies Ordinance within one month of the re-domiciliation date. Depending on the charge or debenture arrangement, you may need to fill out Form NM10 (Statement of Particulars of Charge (For Re-domiciled Company – Charges before Re-domiciliation Date), Form NM8 (Statement of Particulars of Charge [For Debenture Forming Part of a Series]), or Form NM9 (Statement of Particulars of Issue of Debentures of a Series).

Conclusion

As one of the most stable economies in the world as of 2026, Hong Kong offers low profits tax rates, high quality infrastructure, and close proximity to Asia’s fastest growing markets. If you’re looking to redomicile your business to Hong Kong, drop us a message and we’d be happy to answer any questions you may have about the process.