LCQ11: One-way Permits

     Following is a question by the Hon Alvin Yeung and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, in the Legislative Council today (January 8):
 
Question:
      
     Regarding the statistics on Mainland residents coming to Hong Kong for settlement on Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao (commonly known as One-way Permits)(OWPs) and persons coming on dependant visas to reside in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
      
(1) of the number of Mainland residents who came to Hong Kong for settlement on OWPs in each of the past 10 years, and set out the breakdowns of such figures separately in Table 1 and Table 2 by (i) the gender and the age group to which they belonged at the time of entry to Hong Kong (i.e. aged 0 to 4, followed by groups covering 10 years each, and aged 65 or above), and (ii) their kinship with the Hong Kong residents concerned;

Table 1

 
Table 2

 
(2) of the respective numbers of Mainland residents who had come to Hong Kong for settlement on OWPs being (i) refused entry when going through immigration clearance, and (ii) repatriated to the Mainland due to their loss of residence status in Hong Kong, in each of the past five years, and set out separately in two tables of the same format as Table 3 breakdowns of such figures by the gender and the age group (as set out in Table 1) to which they belonged at that time;

Table 3

 
(3) of the number of persons from overseas, whose sponsors were Hong Kong permanent residents, entering Hong Kong on a dependant visa in each of the past 10 years, and set out the breakdowns of such figures separately in Table 4 (of the same format as Table 1) and Table 5 by (i) the gender and the age group to which they belonged upon entry to Hong Kong, and (ii) their kinship with their sponsors; and

Table 5

 
(4) of the respective numbers of dependant visa applications from persons whose sponsors were Hong Kong permanent residents which were (i) received, (ii) approved and (iii) rejected in each of the past five years by the Immigration Department, and set out such figures and a breakdown of (iii) in Table 6?
 
Table 6

 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     My reply to the question raised by Hon Alvin Yeung is as follows:
 
(1) and (2) It is stipulated in Article 22(4) of the Basic Law that "For entry into the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), people from other parts of China must apply for approval. Among them, the number of persons who enter the Region for the purpose of settlement shall be determined by the competent authorities of the Central People's Government after consulting the government of the Region." The provisions of this Article, in accordance with the interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 1999, mean that Mainland residents "who wish to enter the HKSAR for whatever reason, must apply to the relevant authorities of their residential districts for approval in accordance with the relevant national laws and administrative regulations, and must hold valid documents issued by the relevant authorities before they can enter the HKSAR". Mainland residents who wish to settle in Hong Kong for family reunion must apply for One-way Permits (OWPs) (i.e. Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao) from the exit and entry administration offices of the public security authority at the places of their household registration on the Mainland. The implementation of the OWP scheme is to allow Mainland residents to come to Hong Kong for family reunion in an orderly manner through approval by the Mainland authorities in accordance with relevant laws and regulations of the Mainland.
 
     The numbers of holders of OWPs entering Hong Kong from 2010 to November 2019 with breakdowns by gender and age group are shown at Annex 1 and by category are shown at Annex 2.
 
     The numbers of holders of OWPs entering Hong Kong who had their Hong Kong Identity Cards (HKIDs) declared invalid by the Immigration Department (ImmD) from 2015 to November 2019 are tabulated as follows:
      

 
     The ImmD does not maintain other breakdown statistics mentioned in the question.
      
(3) and (4) The immigration policy on entry of non-local dependants (dependant policy) allows those who are able to provide care and financial support to their dependants to sponsor their non-local dependants to come to reside in Hong Kong. The dependant policy also ensures that Hong Kong will continue to attract and retain people with the right talent and skills to come to and remain in Hong Kong by giving them the choice of bringing in their non-local dependants to live with them in Hong Kong. The eligibility criteria for entry for residence as dependants in Hong Kong are shown at Annex 3.
 
     The statistics on applications for dependant visas/entry permits from 2015 to November 2019 are tabulated as follows:
 

Note: Applications approved or rejected in a year do not totally correspond to the applications received in that year.
 
     The ImmD started to maintain breakdown statistics on persons admitted to Hong Kong as dependants by their relationship to the sponsors in April 2018. The relevant figures are tabulated as follows:
 

Note: Including the persons who have entered into a same-sex civil partnership, same-sex civil union, "same-sex marriage", opposite-sex civil partnership or opposite-sex civil union outside Hong Kong with an eligible sponsor in accordance with the local law in force of the place of celebration and with such status being legally and officially recognised by the local authorities of the place of celebration.
 
     The ImmD does not maintain other breakdown statistics as mentioned in the question.