入境事務處 | |
Agency overview | |
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Formed | 4 August 1961 [1] |
Jurisdiction | Hong Kong |
Headquarters | Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai |
Employees | 6,569 |
Minister responsible | |
Agency executive |
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Website | immd.gov.hk |
Immigration Department | |||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 入境事務處 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 入境事务处 | ||||||||||||
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Pre-handover Name | |||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 人民入境事務處 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 人民入境事务处 | ||||||||||||
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Politics and government of Hong Kong |
Related topics Hong Kongportal |
The Immigration Department of the Government of Hong Kong is responsible for immigration control of Hong Kong. After the People's Republic of China assumed sovereignty of the territory in July 1997, Hong Kong's immigration system remained largely unchanged from its British predecessor model. Residents from mainland China do not have the right of abode in Hong Kong, nor can they enter the territory freely, both before and after 1997. There are different regulations that apply to residents of Macau, another Special Administrative Region of China. In addition, visa-free entry acceptance regulations into Hong Kong for passport holders of some 170 countries remain unchanged before and after 1997.
In a special arrangement, although Hong Kong's residents of Chinese descent are defined as citizens of the People's Republic of China, as stipulated by the Basic Law, Hong Kong's Immigration Department is responsible for issuing Hong Kong SAR passports for Hong Kong residents who are also PRC citizens seeking international travel.
Prior to the 1950s, immigration to Hong Kong was not controlled by the government of Hong Kong and migrants freely entered Hong Kong. By the end of World War II, the influx of migrants from China to Hong Kong to flee Communist rule resulted in immigration control.
From 1949 to 1961, registration of persons with identification was required under the Registration of Persons Ordinance 1949 and established a Commissioner of Registration.
Until the establishment of Immigration Department on 4 August 1961, immigration control in Hong Kong was handled by the Hong Kong Police Force. [2] The Immigration Service Ordinance 1961 created the new department in charge of immigration control. Later in 1977, the department enlarged its functions to cover registration of persons by amalgamating with the Registration of Persons Office and Director of Immigration also assumed as Commissioner of Registration. [3] In 1979, the department took over from the Registrar General civil registration duties and the Director of Immigration was appointed as Registrar of Births and Deaths, and Registrar of Marriages.
In 1975 - 1980s, Hong Kong government received up to 200,000 Vietnamese refugees with impacts on the economy, security, society, and searched for solutions. [4] In the early 1987, one of the accommodated refugee boats received the assistance of the Immigration Department to depart to continue sailing. It arrived in Kinmen to apply for the asylum, but was rejected by the ROC military, then was slaughtered on the Lieyu Island on March 7. The boat was burnt with evidence destroyed, and the Hong Kong government-issued documents were hidden to cover up, later the ROC Ministry of National Defense repeatedly denied on the journalists' reportages and the parliament questioning, until being exposed by the publication of General Hau Pei-tsun's diary in 2000, known as the Lieyu Massacre. [5] [6] [7]
Prior to the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, the Immigration Department was responsible for processing BN(O) passport applications, which is now handled by the government of the United Kingdom. [8]
In 2019, the department stopped allowing people to search birth or marital records without the consent of those being searched. [9]
The department is headquartered in the Immigration Tower in Wan Chai North.
The department performs the following roles:
The incumbent Director of Immigration is Benson Kwok, who took office in September 2023.
As with all of the HK Disciplined Services, British-pattern ranks and insignia continue to be utilised, the only change being the exchange of the St. Edward's Crown for the Bauhinia Flower crest post-1997. The ranks are listed below with their UK equivalences in brackets:
In February 2024, the Immigration Department announced that all visa applicants would be subject to a national security risk test. [12]
In 2005, Ma Ying-jeou was denied a visa by the Immigration Department, despite being born in Hong Kong. [13]
In July 2020, TECO's highest officer in Hong Kong, Kao Ming-tsun, was not granted a renewal of his work visa by the Hong Kong government because he refused to sign a statement supporting the "One China" principle. [14] The Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan mentioned that other government representatives in TECO had experienced major visa delays from the Hong Kong government as well. [14]
Since 2018, visas for some journalists have been declined by the Immigration Department, including New York Times journalist Chris Buckley and Hong Kong Free Press ' incoming editor. [15] In March 2021, the Ombudsman of Hong Kong announced that the Immigration Department was placed under investigation due to the rejection of the visa for the Hong Kong Free Press' incoming editor. [15]
In November 2021, a journalist from The Economist was not granted a renewed visa. [16]
In June 2023, Yoshiaki Ogawa was denied entry upon landing into Hong Kong. [17]
In February 2020, Elizabeth Ward, Australia's new Consul-General to Hong Kong and Macau, was unable to take up her post due to visa delays, which was attributed to political tensions between Australia and China. [18] In October, she was officially appointed. [19]
In September 2021, SCMP reported that the department denied visas to dozens of Cathay Pacific pilots. [20]
In November 2022, the department withheld the visa of Tim Owen, the lawyer of choice for Jimmy Lai. [21] In December 2022, the visa was rejected. [22]
In December 2022, freelance photographer Michiko Kiseki was not allowed into the city, after hosting an exhibition of photos from the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests. [23]
In August 2023 and earlier in January 2020, photographer Matthew Connors was denied entry after landing in Hong Kong. [24]
In October 2023, professor He Xiao-qing, who studies the Tiananmen square massacre, was denied an extension of her visa. [25]
In January 2024, Hong Kong removed citizens of Eswatini from visa-free access into Hong Kong, and when asked if it was because of Eswatini's official ties to Taiwan, the Hong Kong government said "The Immigration Department reviews its visa policy from time to time and makes adjustments as necessary to uphold immigration control while facilitating travel convenience for genuine visitors." [26]
The department is also tasked with preventing visits by prominent human rights and democracy advocates, upon the direction of the mainland government. [27]
Name | Time |
---|---|
Yang Jianli | 2008; 2009; 2011; 2014 [28] [29] |
Wang Dan | January 2011 [30] |
Chen Wei-ting | June 2014 [31] |
Benedict Rogers | October 2017 [32] |
Chang Tieh-chih | December 2017 [33] [34] [35] |
Victor Mallet | November 2018 [36] |
Freddy Lim | December 2018 [37] |
Albert del Rosario | June 2019 [38] |
Feng Congde | June 2019 [39] |
Dan Garrett | September 2019 [40] [41] |
Kenneth Roth | January 2020 [42] |
Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee is a Chinese politician. She is currently the Convenor of the Executive Council (ExCo) and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), as well as the founder and current chairperson of the New People's Party. She was formerly a prominent government official of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and was the first woman to be appointed the Secretary for Security to head the disciplinary service. She is also the founder and Chairwoman of Savantas Policy Institute, a think-tank in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Passport is a passport issued only to permanent residents of Hong Kong who also hold Chinese citizenship. In accordance with the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, since the handover in 1997, the passport has been issued by the Immigration Department of the Government of Hong Kong under the authorisation of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China. As the official languages of Hong Kong are Chinese and English, the passport is printed bilingually in both Chinese and English. In addition, unlike Chinese passport which can be issued by Chinese diplomatic missions abroad, the Immigration Department of Hong Kong is the only issuing authority for HKSAR passports.
The Republic of China (Taiwan) passport is the passport issued to nationals of the Republic of China. The ROC passport is also generally referred to as a Taiwanese passport. In September 2020, approximately 60.87 percent of Taiwanese citizens possessed a valid passport.
The Hong Kong identity card is an official identity document issued by the Immigration Department of Hong Kong. According to the Registration of Persons Ordinance, all residents of age 11 or above who are living in Hong Kong for longer than 180 days must, within 30 days of either reaching the age of 11 or arriving in Hong Kong, register for an HKID. HKIDs contain amongst others the name of the bearer in English, and if applicable in Chinese. The HKID does not expire for the duration of residency in Hong Kong.
The Exit & Entry Permit for Taiwan, Republic of China is the document for the bearer to enter into and/or depart from the Taiwan Area, namely Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu. Currently, there are several types of Exit & Entry Permit that reflect the bearer's residency status. The permit is issued by the National Immigration Agency of the Republic of China (Taiwan). For different purposes, the permit is also known as:
Visitors to the Republic of China (Taiwan) must obtain a visa or authorization in advance, unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries or countries whose nationals are eligible for visa on arrival. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months.
Priscilla Leung Mei-funSBS JP is a barrister and Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, representing the Election Committee since 2022. She previously represented the Kowloon West constituency from 2008 to 2021. She was a member of Kowloon City District Council.
Visitors to the mainland of the People's Republic of China must obtain a visa from one of the Chinese diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries. The residents of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan with Chinese nationality may stay in Mainland indefinitely as long as their travel documents are valid.
The visa policy of Hong Kong deals with the requirements in which a foreign national wishing to enter Hong Kong through one of the 15 immigration control points must meet to obtain an entry permit or Visa, which depending on the traveller's nationality, may be required to travel to, enter, and remain in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Visitors from over 145 countries are permitted without Visa entry for periods ranging from 7 to 180 days, to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for tourism or certain business-related activities. All visitors must hold a passport valid for more than 1 month.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Hong Kong may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents.
The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for policy matters on Hong Kong's external commercial relations, inward investment promotion, intellectual property protection, industry and business support, tourism, consumer protection and competition, as well as broadcasting, film-related issues, overall view of creative industries, development of telecommunications, and control of obscene and indecent articles in Hong Kong.
The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau is a ministerial-level policy bureaux of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for the implementation of the Basic Law, including electoral matters and promotion of equal opportunities and privacy protection. The bureau also functions as the intermediary between the HKSAR Government and the Central People's Government and other Mainland authorities under the principles of "One Country, Two Systems", including the coordination of liaison between the HKSAR Government and Central authorities, promoting regional co-operation initiatives between Hong Kong and the Mainland, and overseeing the operation of offices of the HKSAR Government on the Mainland.
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