ENG-2004 — Page 530

460 Population and Immigration

economic development, complement family requirements, and address the interests of different sectors of the community. The Task Force published its report on February 26, 20032 and is currently conducting research to lay the groundwork for the continuation, enhancement or review of policies in several areas such as portability and eligibility of public benefits, retirement, admission of professionals and talents, and measures for encouraging childbirth.

Immigration Department

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is a separate travel area with autonomy over its immigration policy. In accordance with the Basic Law, the HKSAR Government applies immigration controls on entry into, stay in and departure from the HKSAR by persons from foreign states and regions. The Basic Law also sets out the mechanism regulating the entry into the HKSAR of persons from other parts of China.

Apart from controlling the movement of people into and out of the HKSAR, the Immigration Department provides a wide range of services to local residents including the issue of HKSAR passports and other travel documents, visas and identity cards, the handling of nationality matters and the registration of births, deaths and marriages. To enhance these services, the Immigration Department is also in the process of implementing a long-term information systems strategy through the application of advanced technology. The policies aim to keep at an acceptable level population growth brought about by immigration and also to facilitate the admission of persons, including those of outstanding talent, professionals and investors who would bring substantial benefits to help develop the economy. Immigration procedures for Hong Kong residents, tourists and business people are streamlined wherever possible, while efforts are also made to prevent the entry of undesirable persons and the departure of persons wanted for criminal offences, detect and prosecute immigration law offenders and remove illegal immigrants.

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. With the recovery from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) setback in 2003, passenger traffic increased significantly in 2004 with 181.5 million people moving in and out of the HKSAR, representing an increase of 18.6 per cent when compared with 153 million in 2003. A total of 135.9 million land passengers and 14.06 million vehicular movements were recorded in 2004, representing an increase of 17.7 per cent and 7.1 per cent over the figures of 2003 — 115.5 million and 13.13 million, respectively.

The number of visitors travelling to the HKSAR increased from 15.54 million in 2003 to 21.81 million in 2004, up 40.3 per cent. These included 12.25 million from the Mainland and 2.07 million from Taiwan.

2 The Report of the Task Force on Population Policy is available on the Internet at

http://www.gov.hk/info/population