Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong Explained
The Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong is a Social Welfare Department programme for elderly persons on the Central Waiting List for subsidised long term care services, who may take a subsidised place in a recognised residential care home in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Residents pay nothing for board, nursing care, personal care and basic medical care.
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The Guangdong scheme places eligible Hong Kong elders in participating homes in Mainland Greater Bay Area cities. Generated illustration. No real person is depicted.
On this page
- What the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong is
- Who is eligible to join the scheme
- What the scheme pays for, what the family still pays and what happens to the Hong Kong place
- How to apply for the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong
- What to check in a Guangdong care home before agreeing
- How the scheme compares with a Hong Kong home and a service voucher
- Common questions
What the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong is
The Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong is a subsidised residential care programme run by the Social Welfare Department. It lets elderly persons on the Central Waiting List for subsidised long term care services take a place in a residential care home in a Mainland city of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The scheme began as a pilot in June 2014 and was regularised in January 2020. From 28 July 2023 it also covers elderly persons waitlisted for subsidised nursing home places, and homes in the Greater Bay Area may register as a Recognised Service Provider.
The department's scheme page, read on 14 October 2026, lists 29 residential care homes for the elderly as recognised service providers. A news release of 16 June 2026 said three homes in Shenzhen and Dongguan joined on 1 July 2026, and a Legislative Council reply of 25 March 2026 recorded 1,048 participants as at end February 2026.
The department's page on the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong carries the home list and a service brief for each home. Agetide's overview of Hong Kong residential care homes covers the territorial places.
Who is eligible to join the scheme
The scheme is open to elderly persons assessed and matched for residential care services under the department's Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services and waitlisted for care and attention places or nursing home places on the Central Waiting List. The cross-boundary services page states that applicants should be aged 65 or above, and that persons aged 60 to 64 may apply if there is a proven need.
The Service Brief lists four categories that may be unsuitable: guardianship under the Mental Health Ordinance with the Director of Social Welfare as public guardian, a Social Welfare Department appointee managing welfare money, regular psychiatric follow-up apart from dementia, and renal dialysis treatment.
What the scheme pays for, what the family still pays and what happens to the Hong Kong place
The government pays the recognised service provider a service payment that is a full subsidy for board, lodging, nursing care, personal care and basic medical care. The monthly fee listed for these homes is nil.
- shared-room accommodation and three meals a day plus snacks
- care and nursing services around the clock
- an individual care plan and two rehabilitative sessions a week
- one monthly visit by a registered medical practitioner
- transport and escort to hospital or clinic appointments
Residents pay for consumable items, including diapers and wound dressings, and for emergency ambulance charges.
The medical subsidy pilot
China Taiping Life Insurance (Hong Kong) Company Limited runs the Pilot Medical Subsidy Arrangement for two years from 22 December 2025, covering self-paid medical expenses at designated clinics, hospitals and pharmacy stores in the Greater Bay Area. The annual ceiling is RMB10,000 per person for outpatient expenses and RMB30,000 for inpatient expenses.
The trial stay and returning to Hong Kong
From 1 October 2023 the scheme includes a six-month trial stay, counted from the date of admission. A resident discharged and withdrawn during the trial period has the Central Waiting List application for long term care services re-activated with effect from the original date of application, which the Service Brief says spares a fresh application if the person returns to Hong Kong. If the person continues to reside in the home when the trial period expires, that application closes.
For a return to Hong Kong, the written reply of 25 March 2026 states that a resident injured or ill on the Mainland may request help through the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit of the Immigration Department.
How to apply for the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong
The Service Brief and the department's pages set out these steps:
- A person already waitlisted contacts the responsible worker following up the application and files an application for the scheme.
- A new applicant, or someone acting for an applicant, approaches a District Elderly Community Centre, Neighbourhood Elderly Centre, Medical Social Services Unit, Integrated Family Service Centre or Integrated Services Centre.
- The person is referred for subsidised long term care services and goes through initial screening and assessment.
- Care needs are ascertained in the Standardised Care Need Assessment, and the application proceeds in accordance with the assessment results.
- A Hong Kong elderly person already settled in Guangdong may apply through a recognised service provider or the New Home Association Limited where they live.
- The responsible or referring worker informs the applicant of the result once a place has been matched.
The cross-boundary services page states that there is no charge for the application. Enquiries go to the Elderly Branch on 2961 7234.
What to check in a Guangdong care home before agreeing
The department publishes material on each recognised service provider, and the scheme's rules place conditions on admission.
- The care level registered for that home: care and attention places, nursing home places, or both.
- Whether places are available: the scheme page marks homes whose places are nearly full and homes that have suspended new applications, as one did from 12 June 2026.
- The home's service brief, which the department publishes for every provider and which notes that the frequency of transport, escort and hospital accompaniment varies.
- The contact arrangements: a resident must have a family member, guarantor or guardian maintaining regular contact with the home.
- The medical arrangements: the person must certify freedom from infectious diseases and mental health problems before admission.
- The costs outside the subsidy: consumables such as diapers and wound dressings, and emergency ambulance charges.
The written reply of 25 March 2026 listed the considerations as the home's environment and service quality, local medical support and convenience for family visits.
How the scheme compares with a Hong Kong home and a service voucher
Monthly fees for subsidised residential care places
The department lists a monthly fee for each type of subsidised residential care place, as read on 14 October 2026.
| Subsidised option | Monthly fee stated by the department |
|---|
| Subvented residential care homes | $1,660 to $2,060 |
| Contract homes | $2,060 |
| Private homes in the Enhanced Bought Place Scheme | $1,763 (EA1) |
| Nursing homes in the Nursing Home Place Purchase Scheme | $2,060 |
| Homes under the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong | Nil |
The full fee table is on the Subsidised Place of Residential Care Home page. The written reply of 25 March 2026 stated that the government pays a lower fee for residential service places in Guangdong than for subsidising local residential service places.
How the Residential Care Service Voucher is different
The Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly is a separate scheme run by the same department and subsidises places in Hong Kong rather than in Guangdong. Its voucher value from 1 April 2026 is $17,015 a month for care and attention places and $21,982 a month for nursing home places, with a co-payment set by a means test of income and assets.
The guide to the Community Care Service Voucher Scheme covers the community care voucher, which funds care at home, and the community care services directory lists home care agencies. Other schemes are listed in the guides hub and on the about Agetide page.
Common questions
Who can join the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong?
The scheme is open to elderly persons assessed and matched for residential care services under the Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services who are on the Central Waiting List for subsidised long term care services. Applicants should be aged 65 or above, with persons aged 60 to 64 able to apply where there is a proven need.
How much does a resident pay under the Guangdong scheme?
The government pays the recognised service provider a service payment that fully subsidises board, lodging, nursing care, personal care and basic medical care, and the monthly fee listed for a resident is nil. Residents pay for consumables such as diapers and wound dressings, and for emergency ambulance charges.
Can a resident return to Hong Kong after joining the scheme?
Yes, during the six-month trial stay. A resident discharged and withdrawn within that period has the Central Waiting List application for long term care services re-activated with effect from the original date of application. If the resident stays in the home beyond the trial period, that application closes.
Topics
- elderly care
- guangdong
- residential care
- cross-boundary care
- subsidised places
- social welfare department
Related on Agetide
Related guides
Sources
- Social Welfare Department, HKSAR Government. Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong, Services Content and Fee under GDRCS Scheme. https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/pubsvc/elderly/cat_residentcare/subrcheplace/guangdong. Published: 2026. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Social Welfare Department, HKSAR Government. Service Brief of the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong, Monthly Fee. https://www.swd.gov.hk/storage/asset/section/726/en/GDRCS%20Scheme_Service%20Brief%20of%20GDRCS%20Scheme%20(20251009).pdf. Published: October 2025. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Social Welfare Department, HKSAR Government. Subsidised Place of Residential Care Home, Monthly Fee. https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/pubsvc/elderly/cat_residentcare/subrcheplace/index.html. Published: 2026. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Social Welfare Department, HKSAR Government. Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly, Details of the Scheme. https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/pubsvc/elderly/cat_residentcare/psrcsv. Published: 2026. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Information Services Department, HKSAR Government. LCQ7: Hong Kong elderly residing in residential care homes in Guangdong, Reply. https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202603/25/P2026032500278p.htm. Published: 2026-03-25. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Information Services Department, HKSAR Government. Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong launches pilot medical subsidy arrangement. https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202512/17/P2025121700306.htm. Published: 2025-12-17. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- news.gov.hk, HKSAR Government. 3 care homes added to GD scheme. https://www.news.gov.hk/eng/2026/06/20260616/20260616_121220_537.html. Published: 2026-06-16. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Cross-boundary Public Services, HKSAR Government. Application for Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong (GDRCS Scheme), Application. https://www.crossboundaryservices.gov.hk/en/hk_service/details_85.html. Published: 2026. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
Written and edited by the desk collective The Longlight Desk. No individual is named as the author. Agetide editorial standards.
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