HONG KONG 2005

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is a separate travel area with autonomy over its immigration policy. In accordance with the Basic Law, the HKSAR Government applies immigration controls on entry into, stay in and departure from the HKSAR by people from foreign states and regions. The Basic Law also sets out the mechanism regulating the entry into the HKSAR of people from other parts of China.

Apart from controlling the movement of people into and out of the HKSAR, the Immigration Department provides a wide range of services to local residents including the issue of HKSAR passports and other travel documents, visas and identity cards, the handling of nationality matters and the registration of births, deaths and marriages. To enhance these services, the Immigration Department has been implementing an updated information systems strategy through wider use of advanced information technology since 2001-02. The new technology enables the department to meet the growing demand for higher quality public services to be delivered at a lower cost and in a more responsive manner. The rollout of the Automated Passenger Clearance and Automated Vehicle Clearance Systems in late 2004 and early 2005 respectively has marked a major breakthrough to the immigration clearance at immigration control points. The immigration policy aims to keep population growth brought about by immigration at an acceptable level and also to facilitate the admission of people who would bring substantial benefits to help develop the economy, including those of outstanding talent, professionals and investors. Immigration procedures for Hong Kong residents, tourists and business people are streamlined wherever possible, while efforts are also made to prevent the entry of undesirable persons and the departure of persons wanted for criminal offences and to detect and prosecute immigration law offenders and remove illegal immigrants.

The HKSAR welcomes visitors and adopts a liberal visa policy. People from about 170 countries and territories may come to the HKSAR visa-free for visits ranging from seven to 180 days. With the steady growth in the economy, trade and the tourism industry, passenger traffic increased significantly in 2005 with 191.3 million people moving in and out of the HKSAR, representing an increase of 5.4 per cent when compared with 181.5 million in 2004. A total of 143.8 million land passengers and 14.63 million vehicular movements were recorded during the year, representing an increase of 5.8 per cent and 4.1 per cent over the figures of 2004 — 135.9 million and 14.06 million, respectively.

The number of visitors travelling to the HKSAR increased from 21.81 million in 2004 to 23.36 million in 2005, up 7.1 per cent. These included 12.54 million from the Mainland and 2.13 million from Taiwan.

The Mainland is the major source of the HKSAR's immigrant population. During the year, about 55 100 Mainland residents came to settle and join their families in the HKSAR under the One-way Permit Scheme, which has a daily quota of 150.

Article 24 of the Basic Law provides that permanent residents of the HKSAR have the right of abode in the HKSAR and qualify to obtain, in accordance with the law of the region, permanent identity cards which state their right of abode.

Under Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law, persons of Chinese nationality born outside Hong Kong of Hong Kong permanent residents shall be permanent residents of the HKSAR and enjoy the right of abode. The Immigration Ordinance stipulates that in order for a person to qualify for the right of abode under Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law, at least one of his or her natural parents must be a Chinese citizen who has the right of abode at the time of birth of that person. The Government introduced the Certificate of Entitlement Scheme on July 10, 1997, under which a person's status as a permanent resident of the HKSAR under Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law can be established only by holding a valid travel document (e.g. a One-way Permit) with a valid certificate of entitlement affixed to it. This arrangement enables systematic verification of right of abode claims and ensures orderly entry. Between July 1, 1997 and the end of 2005, some 163 600 certificate of entitlement holders entered Hong Kong from the Mainland.

Hong Kong maintains an open and liberal policy towards entry for employment. Foreigners who possess special skills, knowledge or experience of value to and not readily available in Hong Kong, or who are in a position to make substantial contributions to its economy are welcome to come and work. These people, after having ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than seven years and having taken Hong Kong as their place of permanent residence, may apply to become Hong Kong permanent residents in accordance with the law. During the year, 21 119 professionals and persons with technical, administrative or managerial skills from more than 100 countries/territories were admitted for employment.

The Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals was implemented in July 2003, replacing the Admission of Talents Scheme and the Admission of Mainland Professionals Scheme. The conditions for admitting Mainland residents and foreigners for employment were basically aligned at the start of the new scheme. The objective of the scheme is to attract talented people and professionals from the Mainland to work in Hong Kong to meet local manpower needs, facilitate local economic and other development, and enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness in the globalised market.

There is no sectoral restriction or quota under the scheme. The applicant must possess professional skills or knowledge not readily available or in short supply locally. Apart from professionals in the commercial and financial fields, talented people and professionals in the arts, culture and sports sectors as well as those in the culinary profession may also apply. Their admission will enhance Hong Kong's status as Asia's world city.

People admitted under the scheme may apply for the right of abode after having ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than seven years in accordance with the law. Since the inception of the scheme, a total of 9 124 entry applications have been approved.

With effect from August 1, 2001, Mainland students who have graduated from University Grants Committee (UGC) funded institutions since 1990 are allowed to enter Hong Kong for employment. They should also possess special skills or knowledge of value to, but not readily available in Hong Kong. Since July 2005, this policy has been extended to those who are admitted to study at non-UGC-funded institutions in the academic year 2005-06 and thereafter, and who subsequently graduate from full-time locally accredited degree-level or above programmes. The objective of this arrangement is to attract outstanding Mainland students who have completed full-time locally accredited studies at degree or above programmes to re-enter Hong Kong for employment after graduation. During the year, 236 Mainland students received approval to enter through this channel.

Under existing policy, spouses, unmarried dependent children under the age of 18 and dependent parents aged 60 or above of Hong Kong permanent residents may apply to enter Hong Kong as dependants. Capital investment entrants, people admitted into Hong Kong to take up employment and those admitted to take up study in full-time undergraduate or post-graduate programmes in local degree-awarding institutions may sponsor their spouses and unmarried dependent children under the age of 18 to apply to enter Hong Kong as dependants.

The Capital Investment Entrant Scheme was launched in October 2003. The objective of the scheme is to facilitate the entry for residence of people who make capital investment in Hong Kong but who would not, in the context of the scheme, be engaged in running any business here. The new capital brought in by the entrants is beneficial to the economic development of Hong Kong.

The scheme is generally applicable to foreign nationals, Macao Special Administrative Region residents, Chinese nationals who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country, stateless persons who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country with proven re-entry facilities and residents of Taiwan. Successful applicants are required to invest in Hong Kong not less than $6.5 million in real estate or permissible financial assets, i.e. equities, debt securities, certificates of deposits, subordinated debt and other eligible Collective Investment Schemes. By the end of 2005, a total of 1 110 applications had been received and 598 had been granted formal approval. Another 152 applicants, having been granted approval in principle, will be granted formal approval subject to their investments in the prescribed manner under the scheme. The 598 entrants with formal approval have invested a total of $4,334 million.

The HKSAR is vigilant in guarding against the entry of illegal immigrants. The daily average arrest figure region-wide of Mainland illegal immigrants for 2005 was six, a 25 per cent drop compared with eight in 2004. The number of Vietnamese illegal immigrants arrested in 2005 was 373.

The Government maintains close liaison with the Mainland and overseas governments on matters relating to population movements and irregular migration. During the year, representatives from the HKSAR law enforcement agencies participated in the APEC Workshop on Best Practice of Immigration Liaison Officer Cooperation held in Seoul, Korea in September, the 11th Pacific Rim Immigration Intelligence Conference and the 10th Plenary Meeting of the Inter-governmental Asia-Pacific Consultations on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Migrants held in Shanghai in October.

The estimated number of emigrants was 9 800 in 2005 most of whom went to the United States (3 600), Australia (2 000) and Canada (1 900).