ENG-1995 — Page 475

POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION

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the Registrar of Marriages. The registrar may reduce the period of notice or dispense with the notice but this is done only in exceptional circumstances.

Marriages may take place at any of the 221 places of public worship licensed for the celebration of marriages, or at any of the 10 full-time marriage registries and three part-time sub-registries. Four of the full-time marriage registries are also open on Sundays. During the year, 36 388 marriages were performed in the registries and 2 398 at the licensed places of worship. All records are maintained permanently at the General Register Office in the Queensway Government Offices.

The Marriage Reform Ordinance provides that all marriages entered into in Hong Kong on or after October 7, 1971, shall imply the voluntary union, for life, of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. They may be contracted only in accordance with the Marriage Ordinance. Certain customary marriages and modern marriages remain valid, provided that they were entered into before October 7, 1971. Such marriages may be post-registered or dissolved. During the year, 23 customary and 22 modern marriages were post-registered.

Special arrangements have been made so Vietnamese migrants in detention centres can register their marriages in Hong Kong. In 1995, 590 marriages were contracted under these arrangements.

The Registrar of Marriages is also responsible for issuing Certificates of Absence of Marriage Records to local residents. During the year, 26 481 such certificates were issued, down 11.2 per cent from the 29 822 issued in 1994.

Births and Deaths

Births and deaths must be registered. Records are kept in the General Register Office. During the year, 68 375 live births and 30 894 deaths were registered, compared with 71 748 and 30 106, respectively, in 1994. The figures, when adjusted for under- registration, gave a natural increase in population for 1995 of about 0.6 per cent.

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, 322 births were post-registered.

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Birth registration services in the urban areas are provided by two main registries, on Hong Kong Island and 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. Visiting services are also provided to register the births of babies born in detention centres to Vietnamese migrants (489 in 1995). There are two death registries, on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon. Deaths in rural areas are registered at local police stations.

Establishment and Training

At the end of the year, the department had an establishment of 3 667 disciplined staff 3.8 per cent more than in 1994. Its civilian staff numbered 2 112, compared with 2 269 in 1994. A total of 298 immigration assistants were recruited in 1995.

The department provides training for new and serving officers. Recruits undergo a 12-week induction course covering law, immigration policies and procedures, foot- drills, physical training, swimming, first-aid and practical attachments. In-service and specialised training are also provided.