Applying to Hong Kong universities in 2026 comes down to two questions: which admission channel you are eligible for, and which fee category that channel places you in. The official JUPAS statistics released at the formal offer stage show 45,545 applicants and 15,619 offers, an overall offer rate of 34.29%. For dependant-visa holders, the 2027–28 residency rule changes how their applications are processed, but it does not remove their ability to submit.
What the JUPAS 2026 statistics actually show
As at 18 August 2026, the official page shows two distinct applicant counts, and it is worth being precise about both. The first is 45,273, which was the number of applicants as at the December submission deadline. The second is 45,545, which is the number counted at the release of the formal offer results. These are two official figures with two different cut-off dates; mixing them up produces a misleading picture.
The offer figures are more straightforward. Across all programmes covered by the JUPAS main round, 15,619 offers were made, representing an overall offer rate of 34.29%. The scope of these offers matters: they include UGC-funded full-time bachelor’s degree programmes, self-financing full-time bachelor’s degree programmes at Hong Kong Metropolitan University, and UGC-funded full-time higher diploma programmes at the Education University of Hong Kong. The statistic is not limited to the eight UGC-funded universities alone, and it does not include every programme offered by every institution.
Band A accounted for the majority of successful offers. Of the 15,619 offers, 12,907 went to applicants who had placed the programme in Band A, or 82.64%. Band B accounted for 1,654 offers (10.59%), Band C for 519 (3.32%), Band D for 311 (1.99%), and Band E for 228 (1.46%). The pattern is consistent with how JUPAS works: the higher you rank a programme in your band choices, the better your chance of receiving an offer, provided you meet the entry requirements.
For context, the December deadline applicant count has been rising over recent years. The 2026 cycle recorded 45,273 applicants from 465 schools. The 2025 cycle had 42,916 applicants from 463 schools. In 2024, the figure was 39,298 from 465 schools; in 2023, 39,450 from 463 schools; in 2022, 38,955 from 463 schools; in 2021, 40,012 from 468 schools; and in 2020, 41,238 from 468 schools. The trend shows a steady increase in JUPAS applications over the past several cycles, though the school count has remained broadly stable.
Local vs non-local status: what it determines
The distinction between local and non-local status is not a label. It determines which admission channel you use, which fee schedule applies to you, and how your application is assessed.
A local applicant in the JUPAS context is typically someone who has the right of abode or the right to land in Hong Kong, or who holds a dependant visa with certain conditions. Local applicants apply through JUPAS, which is the centralised route for UGC-funded places. The fee for UGC-funded programmes is set by the government and is heavily subsidised.
Non-local applicants, by contrast, apply directly to institutions through the Non-JUPAS route. They are not part of the centralised JUPAS allocation, and they are assessed individually by each institution. Non-local students in UGC-funded programmes pay substantially higher tuition fees than local students, and the number of places available to them is capped by the government. The cap and the fee levels are set by the UGC and can change, so the specific figures should be checked against the UGC’s current published data.
For international families, the key point is that status is determined before application, not after. If a student is a dependant of a visa holder and holds a dependant visa, their status depends on the specific conditions of that visa and how long they have been in Hong Kong. The channel they apply through, and the fee they pay, both flow from that status.
The 2027–28 residency rule for dependant-visa holders
The rule change that has attracted attention concerns dependant-visa holders and the residency requirement for JUPAS eligibility. The policy has been confirmed by multiple media outlets, and the substance of it is as follows.
For the 2027 transitional arrangement, a dependant-visa holder or holder of a dependant entry permit must, by 31 May of the year of programme commencement, have either attended a full-time course at a recognised local school in Hong Kong for the year preceding that date, or have been absent from Hong Kong for no more than 90 days during that year. In other words, the student needs to show a genuine year of local full-time study, or demonstrate that they were physically present in Hong Kong for the bulk of the year.
For 2028 onwards, the requirement tightens. The student must satisfy a two-year residence requirement, with no more than 90 days of absence from Hong Kong in each year, or have attended a full-time course at a local school for the two years preceding 31 May of the year of programme commencement.
The consequence of not meeting these requirements is important to state correctly. The student is still able to submit an application through JUPAS. What changes is how that application is handled: institutions will process it as a Non-JUPAS case. That means the applicant loses the advantage of competing for UGC-funded places through the centralised JUPAS channel. It does not mean the student is barred from applying, and it does not mean they cannot be admitted to a Hong Kong university. It means the route changes, and with it the fee category and the competition pool.
The 2026 application cycle is unaffected. That cycle began in October 2025, and the new residency requirements apply to later cycles.
There is a separate judicial development worth noting for context. A group of 87 parents of mainland Chinese students brought a single judicial review case challenging the policy that dependant children must reside in Hong Kong for one year before they can apply for government-funded university places. The High Court ruled that the measure was not discriminatory and was not unreasonable, and the parents lost the case and were ordered to pay costs. Note the precise framing: 87 parents brought one case, not 87 separate cases.
What the self-financing sector offers
For families assessing options outside the UGC-funded system, the self-financing sector provides a substantial number of places. The Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education (CSPE) publishes planned intake figures, and the most recent release covers the 2026/27 academic year, with data as at 31 May 2026.
The total planned intake for sub-degree programmes across the self-financing and non-JUPAS institutions is 29,072. For first-year self-financing bachelor’s degree programmes, the planned intake is 5,092. In addition, 3,425 SSSDP-funded places are offered through JUPAS; these are excluded from the first-year bachelor’s figure.
The largest sub-degree providers are worth noting. The Vocational Training Council plans 8,605 sub-degree places. HKU SPACE’s Community College, the HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education’s affiliated college, plans 7,600. PolyU’s Hong Kong Community College plans 3,175. HKMU’s Li Ka Shing Institute of Professional and Continuing Education plans 1,660. HKBU’s College of International Education plans 1,560.
On the bachelor’s side, the largest planned intakes are at Hang Seng University of Hong Kong with 1,315, Hong Kong Shue Yan University with 1,090, PolyU’s Professional Education and Executive Development School with 620, Hong Kong Chu Hai College with 495, and Tung Wah College with 300.
The CSPE caveat applies: these figures are provided by institutions for planning purposes and are not necessarily enrolment targets or maximum intakes. They are updated periodically. They nonetheless give a sense of the scale of the self-financing sector, which is a meaningful alternative for students who do not secure a UGC-funded place.
Practical implications for international families
If you are an international family considering Hong Kong, the first step is to establish your child’s status. That determines the channel, the fee, and the timeline. Do not assume that holding a dependant visa automatically qualifies you for JUPAS consideration, particularly for cycles from 2027 onwards. The residency requirement is now explicit, and the consequences of not meeting it are a shift to Non-JUPAS processing.
The second step is to understand the timeline. The 2026 cycle has already run its course. If you are applying for 2027, the transitional residency rule applies. If you are applying for 2028 or later, the two-year residence requirement applies. Plan the academic calendar accordingly: the year of full-time local study must be completed by 31 May of the year of programme commencement.
The third step is to compare the UGC-funded and self-financing routes honestly. A UGC-funded place is cheaper and carries more prestige, but it is competitive and, for Non-JUPAS applicants, subject to a separate assessment. A self-financing place is more expensive but offers more flexibility and, in some fields, more practical orientation. The CSPE figures show that the self-financing sector is large enough to absorb a meaningful number of students, but the quality and reputation of individual programmes vary, so programme-specific research is essential.
A note on fees: this article deliberately does not quote specific tuition figures for self-financing programmes, because the official sources do not provide a single consolidated figure, and published ranges vary by institution and programme. The same applies to non-local fees at UGC-funded institutions. The UGC and individual institutions publish current fees on their own pages, and those pages, not secondary summaries, are the authoritative source.
A verification reminder
This article is based on official figures and policy announcements as at 18 August 2026. Two practical cautions apply. First, official pages update. The JUPAS statistics page, the CSPE planned intake document, and the UGC fee pages are all subject to revision, and the figures quoted here reflect what was published on the date of access. Second, institutional requirements vary. Entry requirements, English language proficiency standards, and programme-specific conditions are set by each institution, and the only authoritative source for those is the institution’s own admissions page. For any specific application, check the institution directly and do not rely on third-party summaries, including this one.