ENG-2003 — Page 518

POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION

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Immigration Control

The HKSAR maintains a liberal visa policy for visitors. People from more than 170 countries and territories may come to the HKSAR visa-free for visits ranging from seven to 180 days. Passenger traffic dropped slightly in 2003 with 153 million people moving in and out of the HKSAR, representing a decrease of 5.6 per cent when compared with 162 million in 2002. The drop was mainly attributable to the outbreak of SARS in March. A total of 115.5 million land passengers and 13.1 million vehicular movements were recorded in 2003, representing a decrease of 1.8 per cent and an increase of 5.6 per cent over the figures of 2002-117.6 million and 12.4 million, respectively.

The number of visitors travelling to the HKSAR decreased from 16.57 million in 2002 to 15.54 million in 2003, down 6.2 per cent. These included 8.47 million from the Mainland and 1.85 million from Taiwan.

Legal Immigration

The Mainland is the major source of the HKSAR's immigrant population. During the year, about 53 500 Mainland residents came to settle and join their families in the HKSAR under the One-way Permit Scheme, which has a daily quota of 150.

Right of Abode

Article 24 of the Basic Law provides that permanent residents of the HKSAR shall have the right of abode in the HKSAR and be qualified to obtain, in accordance with the law of the Region, permanent identity cards which state their right of abode.

Certificate of Entitlement Scheme

Under Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law, persons of Chinese nationality born outside Hong Kong of Hong Kong permanent residents shall be permanent residents of the HKSAR and enjoy the right of abode. The Immigration Ordinance stipulates that in order for a person to qualify for the right of abode under Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law, at least one of his parents must be a Chinese citizen who has the right of abode at the time of his birth. The Government introduced the Certificate of Entitlement Scheme on July 10, 1997, under which a person's status as a permanent resident of the HKSAR under Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law can be established only by his holding a valid travel document (i.e. a One-way Permit) with a valid certificate of entitlement affixed to it. This arrangement enables systematic verification of right of abode claims and ensures orderly entry. Between July 1, 1997 and the end of 2003, some 146 000 certificate of entitlement holders have entered Hong Kong.

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. In the light of social and economic developments in Hong Kong and elsewhere, the coverage of the policy was expanded in July 2003 to allow nationals/residents of more countries/territories to take up employment in Hong Kong. These people, after having ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than seven years and having taken Hong Kong as their place of permanent residence, may apply to become Hong Kong