Haikou Updates Talent Housing Rules from September 1: What Foreign Professionals Need to Know

Haikou has revised its talent housing support rules, with the new 《海口市引进人才住房保障实施细则》 (Implementation Rules for Housing Security for Introduced Talent in Haikou City) taking effect on September 1, 2026.

The revised rules continue to cover eligible foreign professionals, but they do not provide a general housing subsidy for all foreign employees. Applicants must fall within specific talent categories and meet other conditions, including the rules on when they first started working or doing business in Haikou and where they actually work.

The rules were issued by the Haikou Municipal People’s Government as 海府规〔2026〕5号 on July 25, 2026.

What changed under the revised rules?

The 2026 rules replace the previous implementation rules and update the scheme to match the current Hainan Free Trade Port A to E high-level talent classification system.

The main practical changes include the use of the current talent classification system, changes to how applications are handled, changes to how the government-funded portion of subsidies is shared, and an explicit requirement that an applicant’s actual place of work must be in Haikou.

Under the revised system, district administrative approval departments handle the acceptance and review of monetary housing subsidy applications, while district human resources departments handle payments. In Jiangdong New Area, the Haikou Jiangdong Administration Bureau handles acceptance, review and payment.

The workplace requirement is important. Having an employer registered in Haikou, living in Haikou or holding a contract with a Haikou company should not by itself be read as satisfying the rule if the person’s actual workplace is elsewhere.

The subsidy amounts have not increased. The previous rules already provided the same monthly and annual subsidy levels.

Foreign nationals were already included under the earlier rules. The 2026 revision therefore updates the system under which eligible foreign professionals can apply and, in some areas, tightens the conditions.

The new rules take effect on September 1, 2026 and are valid for five years. They also state that talent housing work between February 13, 2024 and August 31, 2026 continues to be handled under the previous 海府〔2019〕20号 rules.

Which foreign professionals can qualify?

For high-level talent, A, B and C category Hainan Free Trade Port talent are included in the housing support system.

D and E category talent are included in the cash subsidy system. The rules explicitly state that eligible D and E talent include foreign nationals and talent from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

The scheme also covers:

full-time master’s graduates under 40, including graduates of overseas universities;

full-time bachelor’s graduates under 35, including graduates of overseas universities;

people under 35 with specified intermediate professional titles, technician qualifications or equivalent professional qualifications;

senior management talent introduced by headquarters economy enterprises;

other talent granted housing support through provincial or municipal government recognition.

Being a foreign employee in Haikou does not automatically qualify someone.

Applicants must generally have first started employment or first started a business in Haikou after May 13, 2018, and their actual place of work must be in Haikou.

There is a narrow exception for people who left Hainan before March 31, 2018 and returned to Haikou for employment or entrepreneurship after May 13, 2018, provided they otherwise meet the requirements.

The rules also exclude people who had individual income tax or social insurance payment records in Hainan between April 1 and May 13, 2018.

A, B and C talent receive different housing support

A, B and C high-level talent are treated separately from the monthly cash subsidy tiers.

Eligible A, B and C talent may receive talent apartments with rent waived for a specified period, together with a corresponding share of the property rights under the applicable rules.

The detailed arrangements for this form of support are governed by separate provincial and municipal provisions.

The rules also provide a third form of housing support for eligible introduced talent generally: the allocation for rent or sale of government-supported housing.

How much are the subsidies?

The revised rules retain the following rental and purchase subsidy standards.

D-class talent

Rental subsidy: RMB 5,000 per month

Purchase subsidy: RMB 60,000 per year

Applicants must generally be under 50. The age limit may be extended to 55 for urgently needed talent.

E-class talent

Rental subsidy: RMB 3,000 per month

Purchase subsidy: RMB 36,000 per year

The same under-50 age limit applies, with an extension to 55 for urgently needed talent.

Master’s graduates and specified professional and management categories

Rental subsidy: RMB 2,000 per month

Purchase subsidy: RMB 24,000 per year

This tier covers full-time master’s graduates under 40, eligible people under 35 with specified intermediate professional titles or technician qualifications, and senior management talent introduced by headquarters economy enterprises.

Bachelor’s graduates

Rental subsidy: RMB 1,500 per month

Purchase subsidy: RMB 18,000 per year

Eligible applicants must be full-time graduates under 35.

Rental subsidies can be paid for a maximum of 36 months. Purchase subsidies can be paid for a maximum of three years.

Claims must also be completed within five years of the talent-introduction date.

The rental and purchase subsidies cannot be combined. Anyone who has received a purchase subsidy cannot subsequently apply for a rental subsidy. If an applicant receives rental subsidies first and later switches to a purchase subsidy, the rental subsidy already received is deducted.

Applicants seeking a purchase subsidy must also meet rules concerning the property. It must have been newly purchased after May 13, 2018, with the filing date of the purchase contract used to determine the purchase date.

Foreign applicants without social insurance records

One provision is particularly relevant for foreign professionals.

Article 17 states that foreign talent who have not paid social insurance may provide individual income tax payment records instead.

The same provision applies to qualifying self-employed talent.

This does not remove any of the other eligibility requirements. It simply provides an alternative form of supporting evidence where an eligible foreign applicant does not have a social insurance payment record.

How does the application process work?

For employees, the process is employer-led.

The applicant first submits materials to the employer, including a personal undertaking, relevant high-level talent recognition documents, academic qualifications or professional certificates, and the required housing documents.

For a rental subsidy, this includes a registered rental contract. For a purchase subsidy, it includes a purchase contract filed with the municipal housing authorities.

The employer checks the application and submits it through the Hainan Government Services Network.

Self-employed talent operating as an individual business can submit directly to the relevant approval department rather than going through an employer.

The approval department has 15 working days to complete acceptance and review. The result must then be publicly posted for at least five working days.

Once the public notice period has ended without a valid objection, the subsidy is transferred to the employer or individual business account.

An employer receiving the subsidy must transfer the full amount to the employee within 15 days of receiving the funds.

What employers need to know

For enterprises, other organisations and individual businesses, the subsidy is not funded entirely by government.

The government and employer share the cost on a 1:1 basis.

For this category, the government-funded portion is divided between the municipal and district governments at a ratio of 45:55.

Different funding arrangements apply to public institutions. Public-welfare category institutions are funded entirely by the relevant level of government, while production and operating public institutions share the cost with government on a 1:1 basis.

This means that for most company employees, the employer must participate not only in the application but also in funding the subsidy.

Special arrangements for people working in key parks

The revised rules contain a specific provision for talent employed by organisations or individual businesses in designated key parks.

Where such an employer applies for a rental subsidy but the employee’s rented accommodation is outside Haikou’s administrative area, the municipal human resources department can refer the case to the municipal government for case-by-case resolution.

This provision applies specifically to rental subsidy applications involving key-park employers. It is not a general exemption allowing anyone working in Haikou to claim a subsidy for housing outside the city.

Other conditions to check

Applicants may not claim rental or purchase subsidies if they or their spouse have already benefited from specified forms of housing support in Haikou, including purchased publicly-owned housing, government-built affordable housing, price-limited housing, employer-funded housing, public rental housing or public rental housing subsidies, unless provincial rules provide otherwise.

Couples who both work or operate businesses in Haikou generally apply as one household, with the higher eligible level of support used.

Anyone already receiving housing support must report major changes, including leaving an employer, closing or changing a business, ending a rental agreement, cancelling a property purchase or losing the qualification on which the application was based.

Both the employer and the individual are required to report relevant changes to the original approval department within 30 days.

For foreign professionals considering an application, the main question is not simply whether foreigners are included. They are.

The key questions are whether the applicant falls within an eligible talent category, meets the May 2018 and actual-workplace requirements, remains within the relevant age and claim periods, and has an employer willing and able to participate in the application and funding process.

Official policy interpretation:

If you have any questions about the new rules or how they may apply to you, post them below and we’ll do our best to clarify.