ENG-1996 — Page 503

POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION

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, 15 customary and 25 modern marriages were post-registered.

Special arrangements have been made so that Vietnamese migrants in detention centres can register their marriages in Hong Kong. In 1996, 257 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, 28 994 such certificates were issued, up 9 per cent from the 26 481 issued in 1995.

Births and Deaths

Births and deaths must be registered. Records are kept in the General Register Office. During the year, 64 559 live births and 32 049 deaths were registered, compared with 68 375 and 30 894, respectively, in 1995. The figures, when adjusted for under- registration, gave a natural increase in population for 1996 of about 0.5 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, 303 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. Visiting services are also provided to register the births of babies born in detention centres to Vietnamese migrants (511 in 1996). There are two death registries, one on Hong Kong Island and one 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 3 586 disciplined staff and 1959 civilian staff, compared with 3 667 and 2 112 in 1995 respectively. A total of 96 Immigration Assistants were recruited in 1996.

The department provides training for new and serving officers. During the year, 116 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 2 371 serving officers received various types of job-related and management training. Of these, 14 were sent for overseas attachment and training.

Vietnamese Migrants

The Vietnamese migrant population in Hong Kong camps continued to decline in 1996. During the year, only 1 029 Vietnamese migrants arrived in the territory and 15 375 were either resettled overseas or repatriated to Vietnam. The corresponding figures for 1995 were 460 and 3 186.

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