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Thursday, March 23, 1972
An explanatory pamphlet has been prepared by the Immigration
Department. Copies in English and Chinese will be available at all Immigration
Department offices, the Government Information Services, City District
Offices and offices of the New Territories Administration as from April 1.
Mr. Collard said: "With effect from April 1, 1972, a resident of
the Colony who is wholly or partly of Chinese race will have the right to
land in Hong Kong under section 8(1) of the Immigration Ordinance, if
he satisfies the Director of Immigration that he has at any time been
ordinarily resident in Hong Kong for a continuous period of seven years.
"The general effect of this change is that a person who is wholly
or partly of Chinese race, and who previously required a visa to enter Hong
Kong because he held a foreign passport, or a stateless travel document,
will henceforth not require a visa for entry into Hong Kong if his travel
document is duly endorsed."
Holders Not Affected
The change does not affect holders of Hong Kong travel documents,
which confer a right of re-entry into the Colony.
"An ex-Hong Kong resident living abroad who does not hold a valid
Hong Kong travel document and who wishes to exercise a right to land in
Hong Kong under Section 8(1) of the Immigration Ordinance should apply to
the nearest British consulate so that his passport or other travel document
may be endorsed," Mr. Collard pointed out. "In cases of urgency, the ex-
Hong Kong resident can enter Hong Kong as a visitor and then seek the
endorsement of his right to land after he has arrived in the Colony."
/A United