ENG-2005 — Page 497

Population and Immigration | 431

economic development. It published its report in February 2003 and, since then, all the policy initiatives in the report have been implemented or are being carried out as ongoing measures. The studies on portability and eligibility of public benefits, retirement, admission of professionals and talents, and measures for encouraging childbirth have also been completed

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 people from foreign states and regions. The Basic Law also sets out the mechanism regulating the entry into the HKSAR of people 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 has been implementing an updated information systems strategy through wider use of advanced information technology since 2001-02. The new technology enables the department to meet the growing demand for higher quality public services to be delivered at a lower cost and in a more responsive manner. The rollout of the Automated Passenger Clearance and Automated Vehicle Clearance Systems in late. 2004 and early 2005 respectively has marked a major breakthrough to the immigration clearance at immigration control points. The immigration policy aims to keep population growth brought about by immigration at an acceptable level and also to facilitate the admission of people who would bring substantial benefits to help develop the economy, including those of outstanding talent, professionals and investors. 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 and to detect and prosecute immigration law offenders and remove illegal immigrants.

Immigration Control

The HKSAR welcomes visitors and adopts a liberal visa policy. People from about 170 countries and territories may come to the HKSAR visa-free for visits ranging from seven to 180 days. With the steady growth in the economy, trade and the tourism industry, passenger traffic increased significantly in 2005 with 191.3 million people moving in and out of the HKSAR, representing an increase of 5.4 per cent when compared with 181.5 million in 2004. A total of 143.8 million land passengers and 14.63 million vehicular movements were recorded during the year, representing an increase of 5.8 per cent and 4.1 per cent over the figures of 2004 135.9 million and 14.06 million, respectively.

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