ENG-2010 — Page 498

420 Population and Immigration

to travel to the Mainland and Macao. During the year, 47 499 Doc/ls and 122 499 REPs were issued.

Identity Cards

The Immigration Department also issues identity cards to Hong Kong residents. There are two types of identity cards: the Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card issued to residents who have the right of abode in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Identity Card issued to residents who do not have that right.

Except those who are required to obtain Certificates of Entitlement, people who claim to have the right of abode in the HKSAR must apply for verification of their eligibility for a permanent identity card. In 2010, a total of 64 469 applications. were received and 54 893 were approved.

Smart Identity Card

The Immigration Department introduced the smart identity card in June 2003. The card employs state-of-the-art technologies and is highly fraud-resistant.

The smart identity cards enable the Immigration Department to use the fingerprint recognition technology to authenticate the cardholders' identity and enable cardholders to enjoy self-service immigration clearance via the e-Channels. In 2010, a total of 566 346 smart identity cards were issued.

Nationality Matters

The Immigration Department is authorised by the Central People's Government to handle Chinese nationality applications from Hong Kong residents. Chinese nationals of the HKSAR who want to be treated as foreign nationals in the HKSAR must make a declaration of change of nationality to the Immigration Department. During the year, the Immigration Department received 119 applications for declaration of change of nationality, 1 263 applications for naturalisation as Chinese nationals, 67 applications for renunciation of Chinese nationality and 13 applications for restoration of Chinese nationality.

Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Outside Hong Kong

The Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit (AHU) of the Immigration Department works closely with the Security Bureau, the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the HKSAR, Chinese diplomatic and consular missions in overseas countries, the Office of the HKSAR Government in Beijing, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong and other government departments to provide practical assistance to Hong Kong residents in distress outside Hong Kong. During the year, 2 194 such requests were handled.

On December 6, 2010, the Immigration Department upgraded its '1868' assistance hotline by doubling the capacity from 23 to 46 lines, and installing functions of automatic call distribution and case management etc. On the same day, the Registration of Outbound Travel Information (ROTI) service, an online service under the MyGovHK platform, was also launched. ROTI enables Hong Kong residents to register their contact details and travel itinerary before departing Hong Kong. In