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Following is a reply by the Acting Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, to a question by the Hon Sin Chung-kai in the Legislative Council today (March 20):
Question:
At present, the daily quota for mainland residents coming to Hong Kong for settlement on Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao (One-way Permits or OWPs) is 150. The Chief Executive indicated earlier that there was hardly any room for reducing this quota because it involved the issue of Hong Kong people's mainland spouses and their children born in the Mainland coming to Hong Kong for settlement. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the total number of mainland residents who came to Hong Kong for settlement on OWPs since July 1, 1997, together with a breakdown by the reason for which they were granted OWPs;
(b) whether the authorities will consider discussing with the relevant mainland authorities the adjustment of the OWP quota granted for reasons other than family reunion; whether they will consider afresh requesting the relevant mainland authorities to review the existing system for the issuance of OWPs, including handing over to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government the work of vetting and approving as well as issuing OWPs; if they will not, of the reasons for that; and
(c) whether the authorities have assessed the impact brought about by tens of thousands of mainland residents coming to Hong Kong for settlement on OWPs every year on the population policy, land planning, job market, livelihood issues of Hong Kong, as well as the demand for welfare, transport and housing, etc.; if no assessment has been made, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the three parts of the question is as follows.
Pursuant to Article 22(4) of the Basic Law, for entry into the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), people from other parts of China must apply for approval. Mainland residents who wish to settle in Hong Kong must apply for one-way permits (OWP) from the Exit and Entry Administration Offices of the Public Security Bureau of the Mainland at the places of their household registration.
The application, approval and issue of OWP fall within the remit of the Mainland authorities. The OWP scheme allows Mainland residents to come to Hong Kong for family reunion in an orderly manner through approval by the Mainland authorities in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Mainland. Under this policy objective, the Mainland authorities have since May 1997 implemented a point-based system, setting out open and transparent criteria to objectively assess the eligibility and priority of applicants. The Mainland authorities also announce on the Internet the points required for approval of the OWP application.
According to the announcement of the Mainland authorities, Mainland residents under one of the following situations may apply for OWP to come to settle in Hong Kong:
(1) his/her spouse is settled in Hong Kong; may bring along children aged under 18.
(2) he/she is aged above 18 and under 60 and need to come to Hong Kong to take care of his/her parents settled in Hong Kong both of who are aged above 60 and have no children in Hong Kong.
(3) he/she is aged above 60 and has no children in the Mainland, and has to depend on his/her children aged above 18 settled in Hong Kong.
(4) he/she is aged under 18 and has to depend on his/her parents settled in Hong Kong.
(5) he/she is a child of Hong Kong permanent residents and holds a Certificate of Entitlement.
The Mainland authorities have from time to time adjusted and refined the OWP scheme. For example, the Mainland authorities have removed the restriction that separated spouse can only bring along one child to Hong Kong, gradually shortened the waiting time of separated spouses to four years. In addition, in response to the request of Hong Kong residents and their Mainland "overage children" for reunion in Hong Kong, starting from April 1, 2011, eligible Mainland "overage children" of Hong Kong residents may apply for OWP in an orderly manner. The phased submission of applications by "overage children" to the Mainland authorities will be scheduled chronologically according to the order in which their natural fathers or mothers obtained their Hong Kong identity cards. The Mainland authorities are accepting applications from Mainland residents whose natural fathers or mothers first obtained their Hong Kong identity cards before 1982. Through utilising residual OWP quota, the Mainland authorities are actively processing these applications to allow eligible "overage children" to come to settle in Hong Kong in an orderly manner.
From July 1, 1997 to December 31, 2012, 762 044 Mainland residents came to settle in Hong Kong on the strength of OWP. Among them, about half reunited with their spouses and half reunited with their parents, while a small number reunited with their children. New arrivals on the strength of OWP are among the important sources of population growth in Hong Kong. The Administration will consider relevant issues when formulating population policy. Currently, the Immigration Department and Home Affairs Department collect information of new arrivals at Lo Wu boundary control point and Registration of Persons Offices respectively. The information is compiled into a quarterly report which is distributed to the relevant government departments and non-government organisations for reference. The Census and Statistics Department also takes new arrivals on the strength of OWP into account when making population estimates, which provide a common basis for the Government in the long-term planning for education, housing, transport, social services, medical services, etc.
Regarding Members' suggestions, including adjustment of quota and change in approval arrangements, I wish to reiterate that the policy objective 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 the laws and regulations of the Mainland. In the OWP approval process, Mainland residents who meet the eligibility criteria laid down by the Mainland authorities may apply to come to settle in Hong Kong. We do not see any justifications or needs to change the existing OWP scheme or approval arrangements of the Mainland authorities, nor to add other administrative screening criteria. The HKSAR Government will take account of the views of the various sectors and the overall interest of the community, continue to exchange views on the OWP policy with the Mainland authorities, and reflect to them the views of the various sectors as appropriate.
Ends/Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:17
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