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Population and Immigration
Personal Documentation
Travel Documents
In 2007, the Immigration Department started issuing HKSAR electronic passports (HKSAR e-Passport), embedded with a contactless integrated chip containing the holder's personal data and facial image as the biometric identifiers in accordance with the standards specified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The department strictly controls the issue of HKSAR passports, issuing them only to Hong Kong permanent residents who are Chinese citizens with the right of abode in the HKSAR holding valid Hong Kong permanent identity cards.
Eligible applicants aged 11 or above may submit their applications through the internet and applicants aged 18 or above may also submit their applications through self-service kiosks at the Immigration Department's offices. A pilot programme was launched in December 2011 for eligible applicants aged 11 to 17 to submit their applications through self-service kiosks at the department's headquarters. During 2012, 654,029 HKSAR passport applications were received, including 16,634 from overseas.
The HKSAR Passports Appeal Board handles appeals against rejections of applications for HKSAR passports. It received 15 (11 overseas and four local) appeals in 2012.
The Immigration Department continued lobbying for greater immigration convenience, including visa-free access for HKSAR passport holders. In 2012, the Republic of Albania, the Republic of Montenegro, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands agreed to grant visa-free access to HKSAR passport holders and 147 countries and territories now grant visa-free access or visa-on-arrival to HKSAR passport holders.
Other travel documents issued by the Immigration Department include Documents of Identity for Visa Purposes (Doc/ls) and Re-entry Permits (REPs). Doc/ls are issued for international travel to Hong Kong residents who are not eligible for the HKSAR passport and are unable to obtain a passport or travel document of any other country or territory. REPs are issued to Hong Kong. residents to travel to the Mainland and Macao. In 2012, 59,828 Doc/ls and 118,915 REPs were issued.
Identity Cards
The Immigration Department also issues identity cards to Hong Kong residents. There are two types: the Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card issued to residents who have the right of abode in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Identity Card issued to residents who do not have that right.
Except those who are required to obtain Certificates of Entitlement, those claiming right of abode in the HKSAR must apply for verification of their eligibility for a permanent identity card. In 2012, 82,099 applications were received and 64,804 were approved.
Smart Identity Card
The Immigration Department introduced the smart identity card in June 2003. The card employs state-of-the-art technologies and is highly fraud-resistant, enabling the department to use fingerprint recognition technology to authenticate the cardholders' identity and
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