214
LAW, ORDER AND RECORDS
The second major event of the year affecting the work of the Immigration Department was the enactment in Britain of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1962, which came into force on 1st July. Persons born in Hong Kong and possessing British pass- ports who wish to visit Britain should now possess entry certificates endorsed in their passports if they wish to be certain of not being refused admission. A total of 957 certificates were issued during the year. The Act has also had some effect on the traditional migration to Britain of British subjects (principally residing in the New Territories) for the purpose of seeking work, usually in Chinese restaurants. They must now have employment vouchers before entry to Britain can be approved. The long-term effects of the new British immigration policy will not become clear for some time.
There was a big increase of work in the Chinese section of the department due to illegal immigration, the growing desire of local residents to bring to the Colony their relatives in China, and various overseas migrant programmes which followed the influx of immigrants in April and May. Relaxation by the American Government of the requirements for the entry of Chinese into the United States resulted in a very large demand for travel docu- ments. These factors inevitably led to severe congestion, and much discomfort during the summer months, in Immigration Head- quarters. The heavy pressure of work imposed a considerable strain on the staff and permission was later given to increase the establish- ment to handle the extra work. It became quite commonplace, when checks were made, to find that well over 2,000 people a day were attending the Chinese section. The office accommoda- tion was quite inadequate for such a volume of traffic, but for- tunately some relief was obtained in May by opening a Kowloon sub-office where all types of immigration matters can now be handled. The office proved of great convenience to residents of Kowloon and the New Territories.
Three innovations introduced during the year were:
(a) Groups of tourists wishing to visit Hong Kong from Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaya, British North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei may now do so with a single group visa under the sponsorship of well-known and reputable local travel agencies. The maximum period of