ENG-2019 — Page 346

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Population and Immigration

information technology. It had 7,279 and 1,697 disciplined and civilian posts, respectively, at 31 December.

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 seven to 180 days. More than 300 million. people entered and left the city in 2019, a drop of 4.3 per cent from 2018. Over 110 million people arrived by land, including more than 41 million visitors, mostly Mainland residents.

The e-Channel is an electronic system installed at boundary crossings, including vehicular control points. It provides automated immigration clearance for Hong Kong residents, enrolled Consular Corps Identity Card holders, eligible Mainland visitors and other visitors. Smart Departure services allow eligible visitors holding electronic travel documents to perform self-service departure clearance through the e-Channels without prior enrolment. Reciprocal use of automated immigration clearance services is in place with Australia, Germany, Singapore, Korea and Thailand, benefiting passport holders of the HKSAR and the participating countries.

Entry for Residence

The Mainland is the major contributor to Hong Kong's immigrant population. In 2019, about 39,100 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.

Chinese nationals born outside Hong Kong of Hong Kong permanent residents are entitled to be HKSAR permanent residents with the right of abode under Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law, provided that one of the natural parents is a Chinese citizen who has the right of abode under Article 24(2)(1) or Article 24(2)(2) of the Basic Law when that person is born.

The Certificate of Entitlement Scheme, introduced on 10 July 1997, stipulates that 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 the government to verify right-of-abode claims systematically and ensures orderly entry. Between July 1997 and end-2019, about 219,600 certificate of entitlement holders entered Hong Kong from the Mainland.

Quality Migrant Admission Scheme

Highly skilled or talented people are encouraged to settle in Hong Kong to enhance Hong Kong's economic competitiveness. Successful applicants need not secure an offer of local employment before relocating to Hong Kong. The government allotted 874 quotas in 2019.

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