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Population and Immigration

information technology. It had 7,407 and 1,712 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. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government suspended passenger clearance services at most control points in phases from January. Around 24.2 million people entered and left the city in 2020, a drop of 92 per cent from 2019.

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 2020, about 10,100 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-2020, about 220,500 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. There was a quota of 1,709 places allotted to the scheme in 2020.

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