Newborn Baby Bonus
Introduction
- The Government announced in the 2023 Policy Address a series of measures to promote fertility, which include providing a cash reward of $20,000 to eligible parents for each baby born on or after October 25, 2023, (i.e. the Newborn Baby Bonus). The implementation period of this initiative is 3 years (i.e. from October 25, 2023 to October 24, 2026).
- To further boost efforts to encourage childbirth, the Chief Executive announced in his Policy Address on September 16, 2026 the extension of the Newborn Baby Bonus Scheme by three years to October 24, 2029 and provide a one-off cash allowance of $30,000 for any second or subsequent child born in Hong Kong between September 16, 2026 and October 24, 2029 to enhance the support for families with two or more children. When registering births and applying for birth certificates, eligible parents can at the same time submit application for the Newborn Baby Bonus.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the $20,000 bonus, the following conditions have to be fulfilled:
- Babies must be born in Hong Kong during the aforementioned implementation period; and
- Either parent of the babies must be a Hong Kong permanent resident at the time of application.
To be eligible for the $30,000 bonus, the following conditions have to be fulfilled:
- Babies must be born in Hong Kong between September 16, 2026 and October 24, 2029;
- Babies must be the second or subsequent child born to either parent in Hong Kong (children born outside Hong Kong do not count for the purpose of this scheme). The Government will check the applications against birth registration records in Hong Kong to determine the eligibility of the applicants; and
- Either parent of the babies must be a Hong Kong permanent resident at the time of application.
Application and deadline
- Application submission and collection of the bonus must be made by either parent of the newborn (authorising other persons to submit application or collect the bonus is not allowed);
- Parents of a newborn child shall apply for the bonus within a period of 42 days after the day of the birth, when registering the child’s birth with the Births Registry. Otherwise, the application must be made within 6 calendar months after the day of the birth1.
- Parents should provide the name, sex and date of birth of either their first child or elder child when applying for cash allowance of $30,000 for any second or subsequent child born in Hong Kong.
In-person or online application
-
In-person application
When attending a Births Registry in person, eligible parents can register the birth, apply for birth certificate and apply for the bonus at the same time.
-
Online application (Only applicable to registered users of “iAM Smart+” mobile app)
Immigration Department’s online system for making birth registration will provide an application form for eligible parents to apply for the bonus.
For online birth registration, please visit https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immigration/bdmreg/onlinebirthregistration.htm.
Frequently Asked Questions
| Q1: | If babies are born outside Hong Kong (including overseas or Chinese Mainland), are parents still entitled to receive the Newborn Baby Bonus? |
|---|---|
| Ans: | No. The initiative is meant to encourage childbirth in Hong Kong, eligible parents will be granted with bonus only for babies born in Hong Kong during the specified period. |
| Q2: | How to apply for the Newborn Baby Bonus? |
| Ans: | Eligible parents may apply for the Newborn Baby Bonus either online or in person at a Births Registry. |
| Q3: | Who can apply online for Newborn Baby Bonus? |
| Ans: | The criteria is the same as the online registration of births. Please refer to https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immigration/bdmreg/onlinebirthregistration.htm. |
| Q4: | How to define eligible second child under Newborn Baby Bonus? Any criteria for eligibility for parents’ first or elder child to be born in Hong Kong and Hong Kong permanent residency requirement for either parent of the babies at the time of application? |
| Ans: |
To be eligible for the $30,000 bonus, babies must be born in Hong Kong between September 16, 2026 and October 24, 2029; and either parent of the babies must be a Hong Kong permanent resident at the time of application. At the same time, the first or elder child of either parent should also be born in Hong Kong (children born outside Hong Kong are not counted under the scheme). The Government will check the applications against birth registration records in Hong Kong to determine whether the applicants are eligible for $30,000 bonus for the second or subsequent child born in Hong Kong. |
| Q5: | How to calculate and disburse the Newborn Baby Bonus for multiple birth babies? |
| Ans: | The Newborn Baby Bonus will be calculated on each baby born. For twin babies born between September 16, 2026 and October 24, 2029, if the parents do not have other children born in Hong Kong before, they will be granted $50,000 cash allowance in total, i.e. $20,000 for the first-born baby and $30,000 for the second-born baby. If twin babies born between September 16, 2026 and October 24, 2029 and either parent has other children born in Hong Kong before, $60,000 cash allowance will be granted in total. |
| Q6: | When will the Newborn Baby Bonus be disbursed? |
| Ans: |
Our target is to disburse the Bonus in about three weeks for 90% of the eligible applications, after obtaining the funding approval of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council. If the bank information provided by an eligible applicant is correct, the bonus will be credited direct to the local sole-name bank account of the payee. Upon disbursement being arranged, we will send a SMS notification message to the local contact telephone number provided in the application form by the Registered SMS Sender ID "#BabyBonus". |
| Q7: | What information is required to provide when applying for the Newborn Baby Bonus? |
| Ans: | Applicants are required to provide the details of a local Hong Kong dollar sole-name savings or current bank account held in the name of either the father or mother (i.e. the account holder’s name in English and account number), and a local mobile telephone number that is able to receive local SMS. |
| Q8: | If any information provided in the application for the Newborn Baby Bonus is found incorrect after the submission (such as bank account information or contact telephone number), how to request for amendment? |
| Ans: | If an applicant wants to amend any incorrect information after the submission of application for the Newborn Baby Bonus, the same applicant (i.e. the person who submitted the initial application) should visit any Births Registry in person and submit an amendment application as soon as possible. The applicant should bring along the original of his/her Hong Kong identity card or valid travel documents and provide the birth registration number of the child when submitting the amendment application. For the addresses and contact numbers of Births Registries, please refer to https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/contactus/birth.html. |
| Q9: | If the online application of the Newborn Baby Bonus is interrupted due to network service abnormality, what should I do? |
| Ans: | Under this situation, the application may not have been successfully submitted. Eligible parents may wish to contact any Births Registry to make enquiry on the application status first. If it is confirmed that the application was not successful, eligible parents may visit any Births Registry in person within 6 calendar months after the birth of the baby to submit an application for the Newborn Baby Bonus. Either parent should bring along the original of his/her Hong Kong identity card or valid travel documents and provide the birth registration number of the child when submitting the application. For the addresses and contact numbers of Births Registries, please refer to https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/contactus/birth.html. |
| Q10: | Is there a confirmation after applying the Newborn Baby Bonus successfully? |
| Ans: | An electronic acknowledgement will be displayed upon successful online application, while a paper acknowledge receipt will be received on the spot if applying at the Births Registry. |
Enquiries
Please call 2810 3568 or email to: newbornbabybonus@cspo.gov.hk.
1 Example 1: If the baby is born on 1 November 2023, the application for newborn baby bonus should be made on or before 1 May 2024. Example 2: If the baby is born on 31 December 2023, the application for newborn baby bonus should be made on or before 30 June 2024.
