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Population and Immigration

handling nationality and residency matters; and registering births, deaths and marriages. The department has enhanced these services through the use of advanced information technology.

The Immigration Department's establishment on 31 December 2014 was 5,554 disciplined staff and 1,528 civilian staff.

Immigration Control

Hong Kong welcomes visitors and adopts an open visa policy. People from about 170 countries and territories may visit Hong Kong visa-free for a period ranging from seven to 180 days. Over 290 million people entered and left Hong Kong in 2014, representing an increase of 4.74 per cent from 2013. Over 110 million people arrived by land, including nearly 43 million visitors, most of whom were Mainland residents. An electronic system, e-Channel, installed at boundary crossings (including vehicular control points) provides automated clearance for Hong Kong residents, enrolled visitors and eligible Mainland visitors holding electronic Exit-Entry Permits for travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao.

Reciprocal use of automated clearance services was introduced with Germany and Singapore in September 2014. These arrangements, in addition to those already existing for Korea, allow greater travel convenience for HKSAR passport holders and the passport holders of the participating countries.

Legal Immigration

The Mainland is the major contributor to Hong Kong's immigrant population. In 2014, about 40,500 Mainlanders joined their families in Hong Kong under the '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, Chinese nationals born outside Hong Kong of Hong Kong permanent residents are entitled to be HKSAR permanent residents with the right of abode. The Immigration Ordinance stipulates that for a person to qualify for the right of abode under Article 24(2)(3), one of his or her natural parents must be a Chinese citizen who has the right of abode at the time of that person's birth.

The government introduced a Certificate of Entitlement Scheme on 10 July 1997, under which a person's status as an HKSAR permanent resident under Article 24(2)(3) 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 enables systematic verification of right of abode claims and ensures orderly entry. Between 1 July 1997 and the end of 2014, some 204,400 certificate of entitlement holders entered Hong Kong from the Mainland.

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