POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION
for Hong Kong residents, tourists and businessmen are streamlined. Effort is also made to prevent the entry of undesirable persons and the departure of persons wanted for criminal offences.
The department has implemented a long-term information systems strategy through the application of advanced technology. Immigration officers pay regular visits overseas to maintain close liaison with their counterparts abroad.
Immigration Control
The HKSAR has a very liberal visa policy for visitors. People from more than 170 countries and territories may come to the HKSAR visa-free for visits ranging from seven days to six months. Passenger traffic continued to increase in 1997. A total of 105.5 million passengers travelled to and from the HKSAR, up 5.8 per cent, from 99.8 million in 1996. Movements to and from the Mainland rose by 15.1 per cent, from 65 million in 1996 to 75 million. However, the number of visitors travelling to the HKSAR fell from 11.7 million in 1996 to 10.4 million in 1997, down 11.1 per cent. These included 2.3 million from the Mainland and 1.8 million from Taiwan.
Legal Immigration
During 1997, 50 287 mainland residents came to settle in the HKSAR. Of these, 25 088 were wives, 21 758 were children and 1 304 were husbands of local residents.
Illegal Immigration
With its steady economic growth and proximity to the Mainland, the HKSAR remains vulnerable to the entry of illegal immigrants from the Mainland. The daily average arrest figure for 1997 was 49, a 22.2 per cent drop compared with 63 in 1996.
Most illegal immigrants came to the HKSAR seeking work and higher wages. Frequent checks were conducted on construction sites, factories and other places of employment. Illegal immigrants found working were prosecuted before repatriation. Their employers were also prosecuted. Most of them were fined, but prison sentences were imposed in serious cases.
Emigration
The estimated number of emigrants increased from an average of 20 000 a year in the early 1980s to about 60 000 a year in the early 1990s. It was estimated that 40 300 and 30 900 people emigrated in 1996 and 1997, respectively.
Personal Documentation
HKSAR passports are issued to Chinese citizens who have the right of abode in the HKSAR and who hold Hong Kong permanent identity cards.
Applications for HKSAR passport may be submitted either by post or in person. Persons residing outside Hong Kong should submit their applications to the local Chinese diplomatic or consular mission for onward transmission to the HKSAR for approval and personalisation of passports. Personalised passports will be despatched to the Chinese diplomatic or consular mission for issue to the applicants.
The HKSAR passport is in a machine-readable format. There are two types of HKSAR passports: the regular size (32 pages) and the jumbo size (48 pages). The
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