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Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Stephen Lam, (in the absence of Secretary for Security) to a question by the Dr Hon David Li in the Legislative Council today (April 16):
Question:
According to statistics provided on the web site of the Immigration Department, as at December 31, 2007, a total of 1,114 Chinese nationals with permanent residence overseas had been granted formal approval under the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme ("CIES"), while 244 other such persons had been granted approval-in-principle. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the above statistics refer to the total number of approvals granted since the introduction of CIES, or to the number of approvals granted in 2007 alone; and
(b) of the breakdown of the above statistics by country of permanent residence of such persons?
Reply:
Madam President,
Our reply on the data of the approved applications under the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (the Scheme) is as follows:
(a) The 1,114 Chinese nationals with permanent residence overseas (relevant applicants) that had been granted formal approval refer to the cumulative total from the introduction of the Scheme in October 2003 till December 31, 2007.
The 244 relevant applicants that had been granted approval-in-principle refer to the figure as at December 31, 2007. Having proved they had made the required investment, these applicants can obtain formal approval and permission to stay in Hong Kong.
(b) The breakdown by country/place of permanent residence of the above 1,114 relevant applicants that had been granted formal approval is as follows:
Country/Place Applicants granted
formal approval
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Gambia 414
Canada 208
New Zealand 126
Nauru 75
Australia 62
The Philippines 61
Niger 58
Guinea-Bissau 42
The United States of America 35
Singapore 11
Kiribati 5
The United Kingdom 3
Japan 3
Thailand 3
Brazil 1
Costa Rica 1
France 1
Hungary 1
Madagascar 1
Mali 1
Malta 1
Poland 1
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Total 1,114
The Immigration Department does not keep statistics regarding the country/place of permanent residence of the above 244 relevant applicants that had been granted approval-in-principle.
Ends/Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:41
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