POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION
Document Fraud' hosted by the Central People's Government in Shenzhen in November. The meeting and workshop were follow-up functions arising from the 'Regional Ministerial Conference on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime' held at Bali, Indonesia, in February.
Emigration
The estimated number of emigrants dropped from 11 900 in 2000 to 10 600 in 2001. The figure was 10 500 in 2002.
Personal Documentation
The issue of the HKSAR passport is strictly controlled by the Immigration Department. Under the HKSAR Passports Ordinance, eligibility is limited to Chinese citizens who are Hong Kong permanent residents holding permanent identity cards. The passport contains advanced anti-forgery design features. To further enhance the security features of the HKSAR passport, an enhanced version will be introduced in January 2003.
Applications can be made either by post or in person. Those from overseas can be sent to the Immigration Department through the nearest Chinese diplomatic or consular missions. All HKSAR passports are prepared centrally by the Immigration Department in Hong Kong, for collection either locally or at the relevant Chinese diplomatic or consular missions overseas. During the year, 416 744 applications were received, including 3 789 from overseas.
The HKSAR Passports Appeal Board was established on September 7, 1998, to handle appeals against refusal of applications for HKSAR passports. It received 15 appeals in 2002.
During the year, visa-free lobbying in respect of the HKSAR passport reaped encouraging results. The Government has secured visa-free access for HKSAR passport holders to visit Central and East European countries. Moreover, some Middle East countries have agreed that HKSAR passport holders would be granted visas upon arrival at these countries.
To enhance travel convenience for HKSAR passport holders, the Government has also extended its visa-free lobbying activities to Central and South American countries. By year-end, 124 countries/territories had agreed to accord visa-free facilities to HKSAR passport holders. The Government will continue to lobby other countries to achieve maximum travel convenience for HKSAR passport holders.
To strengthen working relations with the European Community, the Director of Immigration and his delegation were invited to visit Brussels in May to discuss closer liaison and international cooperation in combating effectively the use of forged documents and illegal migration.
Other travel documents issued by the Immigration Department include Documents of Identity for Visa Purposes (DIs) and Re-entry Permits (REPs). DIs are issued for international travel and are valid for seven years. They are issued to Hong Kong residents who are not eligible for the HKSAR passport but are nevertheless unable to obtain a national passport or travel document of another country. REPs are issued to Hong Kong residents for travelling to the Mainland and the Macau SAR. During the year, 39 086 DIs and 127 336 REPs were issued.
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