POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION
or (b) a specified letter from the Secretary for Security of April 24, 1998, succeeded on the 'legitimate expectation' issue. The CFA found the said documents amounted to a specific representation to the applicants concerned that they would be dealt with in the same way as parties to the Ng Ka Ling and Chan Kam Nga cases in which rulings were given on January 29, 1999. The CFA had in the Ng and Sin Cases held that these applicants were entitled to a fresh exercise of the Director of Immigration's discretion under the Immigration Ordinance duly taking into account their legitimate expectation;
(3) On the 'Period 1' (concerning persons who arrived before July 1, 1997, and continued to stay until either July 1, 1997 or beyond) and 'Period 2' issue (concerning those who came between July 1 and 10, 1997), only applicants born after at least one of their parents had become a Hong Kong permanent resident and who arrived in Hong Kong prior to July 1, 1997 (i.e. before the provisions of the Basic Law, particularly Article 22(4), took effect) and stayed until either July 1, 1997 or beyond, are entitled to have their permanent resident status under Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law verified in Hong Kong without the need to obtain one-way exit permits; and
(4) There was no misinterpretation of the 'Concession' Policy by the Director of Immigration in laying down the requirements that were applied, although the CFA found that in certain cases the Director applied too strictly a construction of what constituted a claim falling within the 'Concession' Policy.
The majority of the cases of the 5 000 applicants in the Ng and Sin Cases have been disposed of in accordance with the CFA judgment, leaving about 200 with dispute in facts pending determination by the courts. So far, about 380 persons have benefited from the judgment.
As at the end of December 2002, 9 416 individual ROA claimants had also applied for leave to apply for judicial review of the Director of Immigration's decisions to remove them from Hong Kong. The majority of these applications had been refused by the Court of First Instance with some cases withdrawn and about 7 600 appeals filed with the Court of Appeal. Many of these appeals had been disposed of, leaving fewer than 100 cases which were yet to be listed for hearing.
In the meantime, removal actions against illegal immigrants and overstayers continued to be taken in accordance with the law.
Entry for Employment
Hong Kong maintains an open and liberal policy towards entry for employment. Foreigners who possess special skills, knowledge or experience of value to, and not readily available in Hong Kong, or who are in a position to make substantial contributions to its economy are welcome to come to work. These people may bring with them their dependants and, after seven years of residence, may apply to become Hong Kong permanent residents. During the year, 16 929 professionals and persons with technical, administrative or managerial skills from more than 100 countries/territories were admitted for employment.
Admission of Talents Scheme
The Admission of Talents Scheme was introduced on December 17, 1999. It operates on a quota-free and non-sector specific basis with the objective of admitting talented persons from all over the world, those from the Mainland in particular, into Hong
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