| 1. TEASER |
| 1.1 |
MVO: Hong Kong welcomes visitors. |
| 1.2 |
It makes entry and exit formalities as fast and simple as possible. |
| 1.3 |
IMMIGRATION CONTROL OFFICER : Thank you. Have a nice day! |
| 1.4 |
With hundreds of millions of visitors moving in and out each year, we keep on refining procedures to provide quality service to travellers. |
| 1.5 |
Immigration control is the responsibility of the Immigration Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. |
| 1.6 |
Hong Kong is now part of the People's Republic of China ... |
| 1.7 |
... but the authority and scope of the Immigration Department remain the same. |
| 1.8 |
The Department employs more than 5,600 disciplined and civilian staff. In addition to its immigration control duties, it documents Hong Kong residents and registers births, deaths, and marriages. |
| 2. CONTROL AND ENFORCEMENT |
| 2.1 |
Immigration Control, handled by the Department's Control Branch, is essential if our society is to develop and prosper as we wish. |
| 2.2 |
As a matter of policy, increases in population arising from immigration must be controlled ... |
| 2.3 |
... and this continues to apply to people from the Mainland. |
| 2.4 |
Yet, at the same time, tourists and business visitors are Hong Kong's life blood. |
| 2.5 |
Nationals of more than 170 countries with adequate funds for the visit and an onward booking may visit visa-free for periods ranging from seven days to 180 days. |
| 2.6 |
Those planning to invest, work, study or reside in Hong Kong must obtain an entry visa before arrival, and be sponsored. |
| 2.7 |
At Hong Kong's land, sea and air terminals, and at anchorages, travellers become our customers. |
| 2.8 |
We aim to serve them efficiently and courteously ... |
| 2.9 |
... and to help speed up our services, we work to a performance pledge with clear targets. |
| 2.10 |
For example, the crossing at Lo Wu is the busiest. It handles more than 300,000 passengers on holidays. |
| 2.11 |
Facilities at Lo Wu and Hung Hom have been extended to ease passenger clearance. |
| 2.12 |
But the key to good customer service is not just more space and more resources - the Department continuously seeks to improve its productivity ... |
| 2.13 |
... planning and managing for the future. |
| 2.14 |
Hong Kong residents do not need to complete arrival or departure cards if they present their Hong Kong identity cards for immigration clearance. |
| 2.15 |
The Travel Pass Scheme enables foreign business people and frequent travellers whose visits benefit the economy enjoy fast lane clearance. |
| 2.16 |
Hong Kong is also part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation or APEC Business Travel Card Scheme for local businessmen. |
| 2.17 |
Holders can enjoy visa-free access to participating APEC economies. |
| 2.18 |
Immigration Department officers are trained to be vigilant against undesirable persons, including wanted persons and known or suspected terrorists ... |
| 2.19 |
... and against forged documents, a worldwide problem. |
| 2.20 |
Hong Kong has an international reputation for its expertise in the detection of forgeries. |
| 2.21 |
Active measures include steps to detect the use of forged documents by passengers attempting to use Hong Kong for illegal immigration to third countries. |
| 2.22 |
Working closely with local and overseas law enforcement agencies and with consulates, the Department also targets the criminal syndicates behind forgery rackets. |
| 2.23 |
Although Hong Kong imposes heavy penalties on anyone convicted of employing an illegal worker ... |
| 2.24 |
... the Immigration officers never relax their vigilance and seek to prosecute employers and illegal workers for offences under the Immigration Ordinance. |
| 2.25 |
The introduction of a W-prefix identity card for lawfully employable imported workers and foreign domestic helpers is yet another measure to help guard against the menace of illegal employment activities. |
| 2.26 |
Under an agreement with the Mainland authorities, each day a number of Mainland residents may enter Hong Kong for settlement on one-way permits. |
| 2.27 |
Besides repatriating illegal immigrants, officers also enforce deportation orders issued against convicted criminals ... |
| 2.28 |
... and intercept persons wanted in Hong Kong who are attempting to leave. |
| 3. NATURALISATION, DOCUMENTS AND REGISTRATION |
| 3.1 |
Another side to the Department's services to the community involves the Nationality Section ... |
| 3.2 |
... which handles applications from persons wishing to acquire, renounce or restore Chinese nationality ... |
| 3.3 |
... or who wish to declare change of nationality. |
| 3.4 |
Among the principal duties of the Documents Division is the issue of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports, accepted for visa-free access by an increasing number of countries. |
| 3.5 |
Eligible to apply for these passports are Chinese citizens who hold a Hong Kong permanent identity card - which will state the holder's right of abode in the Hong Kong SAR. |
| 3.6 |
The machine readable passport incorporates some very advanced security features, visible and invisible. |
| 3.7 |
These features present the severest possible challenge to any would-be forger. |
| 3.8 |
Every single HKSAR passport is personalised within a high level security production centre in the Immigration Department. |
| 3.9 |
Given the sophistication of this passport, and the excellent track record abroad of Hong Kong residents, an increasing number of countries now grants visa-free access to those who hold it. |
| 3.10 |
The Department issues Hong Kong identity cards and assists the Registrar of the Supreme Court to compile a provisional list of jurors ... |
| 3.11 |
... and all births, deaths and marriages are registered with the Department. |
| 4. INFORMATION OFFICE |
| 4.1 |
The Immigration Department's Information Office answers enquiries made in person, by phone, post, fax or e-mail ... |
| 4.2 |
... distributes applications forms and a variety of helpful explanatory material ... |
| 4.3 |
... and also operates a number of hotlines and faxlines ... |
| 4.4 |
... all with a view to improving the quality of information and assistance to the public. |
| 5. INFORMATION SYSTEMS |
| 5.1 |
The Department is fully committed to modern automation and to achieving even speedier clearance at all immigration control points. |
| 5.2 |
The optical character recognition equipment installed at all entry points together with a centralised computer system ... |
| 5.3 |
... means round-the-clock record checking facilities, added security, faster processing and a very cost-effective use of resources. |
| 5.4 |
The Immigration Department's databases can be accessed internally only on a need-to-know basis. |
| 5.5 |
All information held on databases is stored and released strictly in accordance with the law and internationally accepted principles. |
| 6. MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT |
| 6.1 |
As today's new recruits go through the induction course at the Department's training school ... |
| 6.2 |
... they can be confident that they are joining a disciplined service crucial to the well-being of Hong Kong ... |
| 6.3 |
... a service managed to meet the changing needs of its many customers .... |
| 6.4 |
... a service of global importance. |
| 7. WRAP AND SUMMARY CONCLUSION |
| 7.1 |
Passenger traffic in and out of Hong Kong continues to grow at a phenomenal pace, particularly across the boundary with the Mainland. |
7.2
&
7.3 |
Improvement measures to further enhance the travel convenience of visitors and residents of Hong Kong have been actively taken out by the Department. |
| 7.4 |
And at the heart of the Immigration Service lies the keen commitment of every officer to upholding the security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ... |
| 7.5 |
... and to working for its present and future welfare and prosperity. |
