ENG-2010 — Page 495

Population and Immigration 417

departure from the HKSAR by people from foreign states and regions. The Basic Law also contains provisions regulating the entry of people from the mainland of China.

Besides upholding immigration control to maintain Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, the Immigration Department provides a wide range of services to local residents, including issuing HKSAR passports and other travel documents, identity cards; handling nationality and residency matters; and registering births, deaths and marriages. The department enhanced these services through the use of advanced information technology to meet growing public demand for good quality service more efficiently.

The Immigration Department had an establishment of 5 172 disciplined staff and 1 441 civilian staff at the end of the year.

Immigration Control

Hong Kong welcomes visitors and adopts a liberal visa policy. People from about 170 countries and territories can enter Hong Kong visa-free for stays of between seven and 180 days. The number of people entering and leaving Hong Kong in 2010 nearly surpassed 241 million, 8.05 per cent up on the previous year. Over 182 million people arrived by land, mostly from the Mainland.

An electronic system, e-Channel, is installed at boundary crossings to provide automated clearance for Hong Kong residents. Cross-boundary primary school children under the age of 11 are also using the service as are vehicles for which e-Channels are provided at vehicular control points. Frequent visitors and Macao's permanent residents may apply to use the service.

Legal Immigration

The Mainland is the major contributor to Hong Kong's immigrant population. During the year, about 43 000 Mainlanders joined their families in Hong Kong under a 'One-way Permit Scheme', which imposes a daily quota of 150.

Right of Abode

Article 24 of the Basic Law states that Hong Kong permanent residents, regardless of their nationalities, have the right of abode in the HKSAR, and may obtain permanent identity cards.

Certificate of Entitlement Scheme

Under Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law, people of Chinese nationality born outside Hong Kong of Hong Kong permanent residents are entitled to be permanent residents of the HKSAR with 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 or her natural parents must be a Chinese citizen who has the right of abode at the time of birth of that person.

The Government introduced a 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 holding a valid travel document such as a One-way Permit with a valid certificate of entitlement affixed to it. This arrangement enables systematic verification of right of abode claims and

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418 Population and Immigration