HKSI LE Exemption

Let’s talk about Exemptions: Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute (HKSI) Licensing Examination Paper 7,8,9,11,12 – Common Misunderstandings we all have when it comes to comprehending the Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute’s (HKSI) exemption methods and requirements. 

Able to Have Exemptions from HKSI Examination Papers 7 to 12

By fulfilling any of the following options including academic qualification and/or industry experience, registrants can be exempted from sitting for HKSI Exam Papers 7 to 12, and would only have to sit for HKSI Exam Paper 1 to register for a license. 

Applicants who are required to sit for HKSI Papers 7 to 12

If licence applicants are not eligible to be exempted from HKSI Paper 7 to 12, they must fulfill any of the following options including academic qualifications and industry experience, pass HKSI Paper 1 as well as the necessary examinations for their designating type of regulated activities to be eligible for registration.

For applicants who are not eligible to apply for a licence

If applicants were not able to fulfill the aforementioned requirements, we sincerely suggest the following solutions:

•Attend night school

•Attend a bachelor’s degree course in the related fields (Could consider colleges from less developed countries)

•Gain industry experience

Please fulfill the other requirements before taking the HKSI Licensing Examination. It would be a waste of time and money if an applicant took the exams but have not even fulfilled the other requirements for licence registration.

Does a pass in HKSI LE Papers 1,7,8 equal to having a licence?

•Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institutes (HKSI) offers only the licensing examinations.

•The examination itself is not a licence.

•By passing the exams, examinees only fulfill ONE of the registering criteria to register for a licence through SFC.

•Please note that if examinees did not report their exam results to the SFC, the examination results are useless.

•The number codes for listing regulated activities by the SFC are in no way relevant to the HKSI exam paper numbers.

Am I eligible for a 1, 7, 8 licence if I’ve passed HKSI LE Paper 1?

•HKSI does not have the power to issue licence, since HKSI is not a legal entity to issue legal licence. There, HKSI 1,7,8 licence does not exist.

•Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institutes(HKSI) only offers related qualifying examinations.

•The examination itself is not a licence.

•By passing the exams, examinees only fulfill one of the registering criteria to register for a licence through SFC.

•Please note that if examinee did not report their exam results to the SFC, the examination results are useless.

•The number codes for listing regulated activities by the SFC are in no way relevant to the HKSI exam paper numbers.

Is being exempted from examinations equals to passing HKSI’s Licensing Examinations?

•As the examinee did not sit for the exams, it is impossible to get a pass at an exam they did not attend. Therefore, there is no necessary relationship between being exempted from the HKSI exams and passing the HKSI examinations.

•Getting exempted implies that the examinee has already fulfilled some of SFC’s criteria for an individual to register for a licence, and the exemption is only an approval from SFC that one has obtained the same ability with what the licensing examinations are trying to proof.