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Following is a question by the Hon Li Fung-ying and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, in the Legislative Council today (November 9):
Question:
Recently, I have received complaints from members of the public alleging that the immigration control officers in other countries or regions had found fault with them when they entered with Hong Kong travel documents on which only their years of birth but not the months and the days were shown. Regarding the use of Hong Kong travel documents, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the current number of Hong Kong people whose Hong Kong travel documents only show their years of birth broken down by age, gender and type of travel documents;
(b) the respective numbers of complaints or requests for assistance received from Hong Kong people who could not enter other countries or regions successfully because of problems in their Hong Kong travel documents in each of the past three years, broken down by country or region; the details of the complaints involved and the follow-up actions taken by the government departments concerned regarding such complaints, including whether they had enquired with the countries or regions concerned about the details of such complaints; and
(c) the measures to prevent Hong Kong people from facing the same situation when entering other countries or regions?
Reply:
Madam President,
The number of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passports and Documents of Identity for Visa Purposes (DIs) issued by the Immigration Department (ImmD) in the past three years is set out below:
Type of Travel Document Year Number issued
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HKSAR Passport 2002 376,810
2003 423,179
2004 586,203
2005* 379,327
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Total: 1,765,519
Document of 2002 39,090
Identity for 2003 49,193
Visa Purposes 2004 32,672
(DIs) 2005* 41,606
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Total: 162,561
* as at October 31
In general, HKSAR passports and DIs carry the exact date of birth of the holders. However, under a few circumstances (such as the holder can only provide information to prove his/her year of birth), the said documents will only show the holder's year of birth. ImmD does not have statistics on HKSAR passports and DIs which show the year of birth of the holder only.
ImmD does not have statistics on Hong Kong residents who could not enter other countries or territories successfully. As regards holders of HKSAR passport, they currently enjoy visa-free access to 134 countries or territories. We understand that the great majority of holders of HKSAR passport can enter these countries or territories without any problem.
Hong Kong residents who are abroad and need assistance may contact the local Chinese Embassy/Chinese Consulate General or call the 24-hour hotline of the "Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit" of the ImmD at (852) 1868. Upon receipt of such requests, ImmD will contact the concerned person or related party to get a thorough understanding of the case. ImmD will actively follow up the matter and render practical assistance to the concerned persons, having regard to the actual situation. If the relevant overseas authority needs to verify the authenticity of a particular HKSAR passport or DI, ImmD has a mechanism in place that provides 24-hour service to enable overseas authorities to make immediate verification when necessary.
Ends/Wednesday, November 9, 2005
Issued at HKT 14:16
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