POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION
A birth which has not been registered within one year may be post-registered with the consent of the Registrar of Births and Deaths. During the year, 188 births were post-registered. Birth registration services in the urban areas are provided by one main registry on Hong Kong Island and another in Kowloon. There are also five birth registries in the rural areas. In the outlying areas and islands, births are normally registered at rural committee offices by visiting district registrars.
There are two main death registries, one on Hong Kong Island and one in Kowloon. Deaths in rural areas are registered at local police stations.
Verification of Eligibility for Permanent Identity Card
Legislative amendments were made in July 1997 to promulgate the categories of persons who have the status of permanent resident in the HKSAR under the Basic Law. Persons who lay claim to the permanent resident status have to apply for verification of their eligibility for a permanent identity card (PIC) and successful applicants are arranged to register for PICs. From July 3, 1997, to December 31, 1997, 47 542 applications for verification of eligibility for PIC were received.
Nationality Matters
The Immigration Department is authorised to handle matters relating to Chinese nationality of Hong Kong residents, including the processing of declarations of change of nationality in respect of Hong Kong residents who are Chinese citizens. holding foreign passports. Once their declarations have been accepted, these persons will be treated as foreign nationals in the HKSAR for claiming foreign consular protection.
From July 3, 1997, to December 31, 1997, 2 281 applications for declaration of change of nationality were received. By the end of 1997, 30 applications for naturalisation as Chinese nationals, two applications for renunciation of Chinese nationality and no applications for restoration of Chinese nationality had been received.
Establishment and Training
At the end of the year, the department had an establishment of 3 687 disciplined staff and 1 858 civilian staff, compared with 3 586 and 1 959 in 1996 respectively. A total of 46 Immigration Officers and 201 Immigration Assistants were recruited in 1997. The department provides training for new and serving officers. During the year, 116 Immigration Assistant new recruits completed a 12-week induction course covering law, immigration policies and procedures, foot-drills, physical training, swimming, first-aid and practical attachments, while 3 370 serving officers received various types of job-related and management training. Of these, 10 were sent for overseas attachment and training.
Vietnamese Migrants
During the year, 448 Vietnamese refugees were settled overseas and 4 512 Vietnamese migrants were repatriated to Vietnam. The corresponding figures for 1996 were 274 and 15 101.
The policy towards Vietnamese migrants is based on the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA), which was endorsed by the international community at the Geneva
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