The Immigration Department is committed to ensuring that personal data held by the Department is handled in accordance with the provisions of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (“PD(P)O”). The Department undertakes to :
collect adequate, but not excessive, personal data by lawful and fair means for a lawful purpose directly related to the Department’s functions or activities;
take all practicable steps to ensure that personal data is accurate, having regard to the purpose for which it is or is to be used;
take all practicable steps to ensure that personal data is not used where there are reasonable grounds for believing that it is inaccurate having regard to the purpose for which it is or is to be used;
take all practicable steps to erase personal data where it is no longer required for the purpose for which it was used;
use personal data for the purpose for which the data was to be used at the time of the collection or for a directly related purpose, unless the individual concerned has given prescribed consent for the data to be used for a new purpose or such use is permitted by law;
take all practicable steps to ensure that personal data is protected against unauthorised or accidental access, processing, erasure, loss or use;
take all practicable steps to ensure that a person can be informed of the kinds of personal data the Department holds and the main purposes for which the data is or is to be used; and
handle data access / correction requests in accordance with relevant law.
There are five broad categories of personal data held in the Immigration Department :
Travel records - including personal data collected in relation to immigration clearance.
Application and registration records - including:
personal data collected in relation to applications for visa/entry permit, extension of stay, HKSAR travel documents, nationality matters, etc.; and
personal data collected in relation to applications for identity card, registration of births, deaths and marriages, and other related matters.
Enforcement, removal and non-refoulement claim records - including personal data collected for:
investigating into offences under the Immigration Ordinance, Immigration Service Ordinance, Registration of Persons Ordinance, and offences relating to the registration of births, deaths and marriages in Hong Kong;
prosecuting offenders, instituting removal and deportation proceedings against illegal immigrants and undesirable characters;
management and repatriation of immigration offenders; and
handling of non-refoulement claims.
Employment - related records on serving and former employees - including personal particulars and particulars of family members, education and qualifications, employment history, salary and allowances, terms and conditions of service, housing benefits, medical records, leave and passages, training, investments, outside work, appraisal reports, promotion board assessments, conduct and discipline, retirement and pension.
Other records - including personal data collected in connection with providing assistance to Hong Kong residents outside the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, requests made under the Code on Access to Information and the PD(P)O, or complaints made to the Department.
The Immigration Department collects personal data for the following purposes :
To carry out immigration clearance and examination of persons entering into or departing from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
To process applications for visa / entry permit / extension of stay / HKSAR travel documents; registration of persons / births / deaths / marriages and related applications; and nationality applications.
To exercise the powers and carry out the duties under the Registration of Persons Ordinance, Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance, Marriage Ordinance and their Regulations as well as other related legislation.
To administer/enforce relevant provisions of the Immigration Ordinance, Immigration Service Ordinance and to assist in the enforcement of any other Ordinances and Regulations by other government bureaux and departments through carrying out immigration control duties.
To process non-refoulement claims.
To enable the Registrar of the High Court to compile a provisional list of jurors.
To enable the Registration and Electoral Office to verify the particulars in the electoral register.
To serve a range of employment-related purposes, including appointment, integrity checking, postings and transfers, offer / renewal / extension of agreement, incremental credit, training and career development, revision of terms or conditions of service, promotion, conduct and discipline, continuation in or removal from office, pensions, and provision of testimonials. Employment-related personal data may be published in Government publications.
To provide emergency relief to Hong Kong residents in distress outside Hong Kong.
To handle complaints from members of the public.
To serve statistical and research purposes.
For any other legitimate purposes as may be required, authorised or permitted by law.
The following practices are adopted by the Immigration Department to ensure compliance with the PD(P)O :
The Principal Immigration Officer (Records and Data Management) is designated as the Data Protection Officer who is responsible for liaison with government departments and outside bodies on matters relating to privacy policy, and also for monitoring and overseeing the compliance with the PD(P)O.
Requests for data access / correction under the PD(P)O are handled in accordance with the provisions of the PD(P)O.
A statement of purpose of collection of personal data is included as far as practicable in application forms for services provided by the Department. Such a statement may also be displayed in the form of notice in immigration premises.
Log books are kept to record all refusals of the data access and correction requests and the particulars of the reasons for the refusals.
Data Access Request (DAR) Forms for access to personal data held by the Immigration Department are :
obtainable from the Information and Liaison Section on the 2/F, Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong; and
The Immigration Department takes appropriate steps to protect the personal data we hold against unauthorised or accidental access, processing, erasure, loss or use.
The Immigration Department implements records management in accordance with the government records management guidelines and procedures to ensure records are properly created, maintained and disposed of.
Requests for data access made by way of a DAR Form or requests for correction of personal data should be addressed to :
Director of Immigration Immigration Tower 7 Gloucester Road Wan Chai Hong Kong
Underpaid mail items will not be accepted by the Immigration Department. For proper delivery of your mail items, please ensure your mail items bear sufficient postage with return address before posting. (Details)
A charge will be made to cover the cost of photocopying personal data to be supplied in response to data access requests at the current standard charges or as otherwise provided for or approved by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury.
Any enquiries on the matter should be directed to :
Information and Liaison Section 2/F, Immigration Tower 7 Gloucester Road Wan Chai Hong Kong
