HONG KONG – Seven-time snooker world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has obtained Hong Kong residency under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS), the city’s Immigration Department said on Thursday.
In a social media video, the 48-year-old UK snooker star told Director of Immigration Benson Kwok Joon-fung that he has enjoyed many “nice trips” to Hong Kong and made many “good friends” in the city.
He noted that snooker is popular in Hong Kong, therefore he would have plenty of opportunities to practice in future.
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O’Sullivan added that Hong Kong’s tax system is “a good thing” for people traveling from other countries.
“If you want to have a good life, then you should come to Hong Kong,” he said.
Looking ahead, O’Sullivan said he plans to “do some work” in Hong Kong — he has previously co-authored crime novels and fronted an online snooker course — as well as enjoying the city’s signature cuisine, relaxing, playing snooker and seeing friends.
Known as “The Rocket”, O’Sullivan is one of the most accomplished players in snooker history, having won seven World Snooker Championships. In January, he won his eighth snooker Masters championship – a top snooker tournament held in England.
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O’Sullivan has played against Chinese mainland snooker ace Ding Junhui and Hong Kong professional player Marco Fu Ka-chun several times.
As part of the city’s talent attraction programs, QMAS targets highly skilled people via a scoring system. Applicants can choose to be assessed by a general test focusing on academic and work experience, or an achievement-based test if they have outstanding achievements.
Successful applicants are not required to have secured a job offer of local employment before their entry to Hong Kong for settlement.
Since 2022, Hong Kong has stepped up efforts to attract global talents through introducing a new Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTP) targeting top-caliber professionals and optimizing existing programs.
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Last year, less than 24 hours after filing an application for TTP, Stephon Marbury, a former National Basketball Association player, got approval from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.
As of September, the city’s various talent-wooing programs had received over 380,000 applications worldwide, with over 240,000 being approved.
Contact the writer at fangxue@chinadailyhk.com
