A mainland Chinese woman has been acquitted of forging academic qualifications in her application for Hong Kong’s talent scheme, with the judge saying she could have been defrauded by her agent during the process.

Xu Lina, 36, was cleared of any charges at Sha Tin Court on Monday after Magistrate Raymond Wong Kwok-fai said the defendant might have been negligent in failing to check her application form before submitting it to the Immigration Department, but her actions did not amount to knowingly and intentionally conspiring to defraud.

The magistrate said the prosecution was unable to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt, leading to his verdict of not guilty.

Xu was charged with conspiracy to defraud after stating in her Top Talent Pass Scheme application that she was a graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, while she declared her education level as sixth form or non-degree tertiary education to immigration officers when applying for her Hong Kong identity card in April 2024.

Established in 2022, the scheme allows individuals with an annual income of HK$2.5 million (US$319,195) or above; degree graduates from a list of eligible universities with at least three years’ work experience in the previous five years; and degree holders from eligible universities with less than three years’ work experience who were not non-local students in the city to live and work in Hong Kong.

The court heard that Xu’s visa application was approved in early March 2024, and that she entered the city for the first time a month later to apply for her Hong Kong identity card. When completing the application, she again listed her education level as sixth form or non-degree tertiary education.

When Xu entered Hong Kong again a week later, she admitted to immigration officers under questioning that she had neither heard of nor attended the University of Technology Sydney and was subsequently arrested.