Mainland Residents Opening a Bank Account in Hong Kong: Routes, Documents, Channels and the Foreign-Exchange Boundary

Mainland residents can open personal bank accounts in Hong Kong. There are three common routes: applying in person at a branch with an Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao or a Chinese passport; opening an account remotely through the app of a bank that accepts applicants in your location; or, if eligible, opening a dedicated investment account through the Southbound Scheme of Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The biggest change since May 2026 is not about "whether you can open an account" but about investment functions: Chinese Mainland investors adding securities, funds or other investment functions must sign a separate written declaration and designate an account in their own name for settlement, while non-investment functions such as savings, deposits and transfers are outside these measures.

Applies to: Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. This page describes rules and mechanisms only and does not provide any method of moving or converting money across borders. For foreign-exchange and tax matters, seek professional advice in your own jurisdiction.

First, distinguish the bank account from investment functions

Hong Kong banks often open accounts as an "integrated account", with savings, current and time deposit functions under one account number, plus investment functions that can be added separately. The two parts need to be understood separately:

In the same circular, the HKMA also reminds banks that if they provide non-investment account services to Mainland individuals, they should take active steps to ensure compliance with the Mainland rules that apply to those customers. In other words, a savings account is not bound by the investment account declaration, but the bank will still assess account purpose and source of funds on a risk basis and pay attention to whether the account's use is consistent with Mainland rules.

The definition of a "Chinese Mainland investor" comes from the SFC and HKMA circulars: an individual investor who uses a PRC Resident Identity Card and/or a Chinese passport as proof of identity. Wording on bank websites may differ slightly (HSBC's investment account opening page, for example, refers to the Exit-entry Permit and/or Chinese passport); the opening bank's determination prevails. The full rules are in Hong Kong investment account changes from May 2026.

Three routes: branch, app and Wealth Management Connect

Route 1: in branch. This is the traditional route. Most banks require an appointment, and some designate branches and set separate balance requirements for non-HKID holders; for a single-bank example see Main banks.

Route 2: remote opening through an app. HSBC Hong Kong's app account opening eligibility page states that applicants must be aged 18 to 75, may hold an overseas passport or an Exit-entry Permit (EEP), must be located in a listed country or region (the list includes Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and Macao), and must not already hold an account or credit card with the bank (HSBC website, accessed 2026-10-24). BOCHK announced on 2020-07-16 that it had extended mobile account opening to places outside Hong Kong (the bank's own statement). Eligibility for remote channels changes with bank policy, and the HKMA's remote on-boarding circular of 2026-09-03 also requires banks to review their remote on-boarding arrangements comprehensively; see Remote account opening and digital banks.

Route 3: Southbound Wealth Management Connect. Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect is an arrangement launched jointly by Mainland and Hong Kong regulators. The Southbound Scheme allows eligible Mainland residents in the Greater Bay Area to open investment accounts with Hong Kong banks and buy eligible wealth management products. The HKMA's circular of 2024-01-24 implemented "Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect 2.0", effective 2024-02-26, covering account opening, individual quotas, eligible products and promotional arrangements; the individual Southbound investment quota was raised from RMB 1 million to RMB 3 million (Hong Kong SAR Government reply to the Legislative Council, 2024-06-12). Investor eligibility (household registration or social insurance, years of individual income tax payment, and asset or income conditions) is set by the Implementation Rules issued by the Mainland authorities. Annex 1 to the HKMA circular makes clear that Southbound customers continue to follow the existing requirements and do not need to follow the additional measures of 2026-05-22.

Identity documents, address and Mainland TIN

All documents must be genuine and unaltered. The HKMA's circular of 2026-05-22 requires banks to review and close investment accounts opened with suspicious or forged documents. The full checklist is in Documents for a Hong Kong personal account.

The boundary set by Mainland foreign-exchange rules

How money moves from the Mainland into a Hong Kong account is governed by Mainland foreign-exchange rules. This site cites only the prohibitions and mechanisms stated in official documents and does not provide any operational method:

• The Xiamen Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange's Tips on Personal Foreign Exchange Services (2021-10) states that foreign exchange purchased by individuals in the Mainland "may not be used for capital account items that are not yet open, such as buying property abroad, securities investment, life insurance and investment-type insurance with returns or dividends";
• The same document lists "six prohibitions", including not lending your own facilitation quota to others and not borrowing other people's quotas to split purchases;
• Article 2 of the Implementing Rules of the Measures for the Administration of Personal Foreign Exchange (Hui Fa [2007] No. 1) provides that foreign exchange sales by individuals and purchases by individuals in the Mainland are subject to an annual aggregate limit, set at the equivalent of US$50,000 per person per year, which SAFE may adjust in light of the balance of payments (State Administration of Foreign Exchange).

This links directly to the Hong Kong investment account declaration: Chinese Mainland investors must declare that their investment funds "come from lawful sources outside the Mainland", and if the source of funds is later found to be unlawful or in breach of Mainland capital controls, the bank must close the investment account (HKMA Annex 1, Measure 3). The notice on the crackdown plan issued by eight authorities on 2026-05-09 (reproduced on the Shanghai Stock Exchange website) states that domestic investors should be guided to invest overseas through lawful channels such as Southbound Stock Connect, QDII and Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect. Annex 2 to the HKMA circular also notes that banks may guide eligible investors to open investment accounts through Wealth Management Connect, or to invest in eligible Hong Kong stocks and exchange-traded funds through Mainland brokers via Shanghai-Hong Kong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect. How to explain source of funds is covered in Source of funds and source of wealth.

Mainland tax and CRS: opening an account does not change your reporting obligations

Opening a Hong Kong account does not change your Mainland tax residence, nor does it take the account outside information exchange. Three points to note:

1. Reporting overseas income. MOF and STA Announcement No. 3 of 2020 provides that resident individuals who receive overseas income must file and pay tax between 1 March and 30 June of the year after the income is received; categorised income such as interest and dividends is calculated separately under the rules.
2. CRS exchange. The Mainland's Administrative Measures on Due Diligence of Tax-related Information of Non-resident Financial Accounts took effect on 2017-07-01, with the first exchange in September 2018; the Chinese Mainland is also on the list of reportable jurisdictions published by Hong Kong's Inland Revenue Department. Hong Kong banks report the account information of Mainland tax residents to the IRD, which then exchanges it with the Mainland.
3. The Hong Kong side. Hong Kong generally does not tax individuals on deposit interest, subject to the IRD's view in individual cases; this does not affect the obligation of Mainland tax residents to report under Mainland rules.

Seek professional tax advice where you live. How to complete the CRS form is covered in CRS and tax residence self-certification.

How Singapore compares

Mainland residents opening accounts in Singapore do not face an investment account measure aimed at a single identity group, such as the "Chinese Mainland investor written declaration", but the general customer due diligence under MAS Notice 626 still applies. For non-residents, remote account opening at Singapore banks is often tied to the priority banking tier: for example, foreigners opening an OCBC Premier account remotely through the app must deposit or invest at least S$350,000 in new funds (OCBC website, accessed 2026-10-23). Mainland foreign-exchange and overseas income reporting rules apply equally to accounts in both places. Singapore routes are covered in bankaccount.sg account opening routes by applicant type.

If you would like help mapping out an account opening route for your own circumstances, you can register your enquiry through this site's contact details. This site is not a bank and does not arrange any cross-border movement of funds.