LCQ2: Combating illegal workers
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Question:
It has been reported that the problem of illegal workers has emerged in many industries in Hong Kong in recent months. Some illegal workers have even allegedly used forged identity documents or vocational qualification certificates (e.g. Construction Worker Registration Card) to conceal their identity. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective total numbers of illegal workers arrested by the Government during the law enforcement operations in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by the identity documents held by them (including a recognisance form, commonly known as a "going-out pass", forged identity card, and Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao, commonly known as Two-way Exit Permits, etc);
(2) of the number of employers arrested by the Government in 2025 for hiring illegal workers, and the number of those who were prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to imprisonment; how the Government assesses the deterrent effect of existing penalties on employers who hire illegal workers; and
(3) given that some members of the construction industry have relayed that illegal workers have often engaged in work such as renovation and scaffold erection, whether the Government has assessed the risk of illegal workers using forged vocational qualification certificates to engage in the relevant industries; whether the Immigration Department, relevant vocational qualification certification bodies and other government departments have currently established a verification system to assist frontline law enforcement officers in instantly verifying the authenticity of the relevant supporting documents?
Reply:
President,
The Government is committed to combating illegal employment so as to protect job opportunities for the local workforce. It is a serious offence to engage in illegal employment. Illegal workers, employers, as well as aiders and abettors of illegal employment will be liable to prosecution in accordance with the Immigration Ordinance.
To further step up efforts in combating illegal employment, the Security Bureau established in September 2025 an Inter-departmental Task Force against Illegal Employment (Task Force) to enhance interdepartmental co-ordination and combat illegal employment under a multi-pronged approach.
On intelligence collection, the Immigration Department (ImmD) launched a Dedicated Hotline for Reporting Illegal Workers (Reporting Hotline) in September 2025 and provided new reporting functions on WeChat and the "iAM Smart" mobile application. To further facilitate the public in making reports, the Reporting Hotline has been simplified as 185 185 since March 23, 2026.
On enforcement, over 10 000 operations against illegal workers were conducted in the first five months after the establishment of the Task Force (i.e. from October 2025 to February 2026), with the monthly average increased by nearly 30 per cent as compared with that of the first three quarters in 2025. During these operations, about 520 illegal workers and 200 employers or aiders and abettors were arrested.
In consultation with the Development Bureau and the ImmD, the reply to the question raised by the Hon Lam Wai-kong is as follows:
(1) According to the ImmD's record, a total of 4 050 illegal workers were arrested from 2023 to February this year, of which around 50 per cent (1 991 persons) were visitors holding Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao. Moreover, 1 213 non-ethnic Chinese persons on recognisance and issued with Form No. 8 were arrested for suspected in taking up illegal employment. During the same period, the ImmD seized 72 forged Hong Kong identity cards during anti-illegal workers operations. The breakdown of the arrested illegal workers by their immigration status is at Annex.
(2) The Government amended the Immigration Ordinance in 2021 by increasing the penalty on employing prohibited employees. The maximum penalty had been significantly increased from the original fine of $350,000 and three years' imprisonment to a fine of $500,000 and ten years' imprisonment. It is noteworthy that an employer of illegal workers was sentenced to 19 months' imprisonment in February 2024, reflecting the gravity of such offence. In 2025, the ImmD arrested 569 employers of illegal workers and prosecuted 179 employers. A total of 127 employers were convicted in the same year, and the majority of them were sentenced to imprisonment, with terms ranging from six weeks to six months. We believe that the penalty for employing illegal workers in the prevailing legislation already has a considerable deterrent effect.
The ImmD will continue to closely monitor the sentences imposed by the courts, and if necessary, consult the Department of Justice in considering whether to apply for a sentence review.
(3) Under the prevailing legislation, any person who is convicted of making, possessing or using false instruments is liable to a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment, whereas any person who is convicted of using or possessing a forged identity card is liable to a maximum fine of $100,000 and 10 years' imprisonment.
In recent years, the ImmD has mounted multiple large-scale cross-boundary joint operations against illegal employment and successfully neutralised a number of cross-boundary forgery syndicates involving forged Hong Kong identity card. In particular, the ImmD carried out a cross-boundary joint operation with relevant Mainland authorities from October 2025 to January 2026 and successfully smashed a cross-boundary forgery syndicate that recruited Mainland residents to take up illegal employment in Hong Kong. A total of 119 persons were arrested in both jurisdictions, and a large amount of equipment used in producing forged cards and forged identity cards were seized. While the ImmD did not find any forged vocational qualification certificates during the said operation, the ImmD has seized two forged Mandatory Basic Safety Training Certificates (Green Card) and one Construction Workers Registration Card in other anti-illegal workers operations since 2025.
The scope of renovation projects can be extensive. Whether construction workers need to carry and present a valid registration card depends on whether the project involves the structure of a building. If the work involves the building structure, it falls under the application of the Construction Workers Registration Ordinance. All individuals entering a construction site regulated by the said ordinance to carry out construction work must be registered in advance, and carry and present their registration cards upon entering the site, which will be verified and authenticated by a card-reading device. However, private residential renovation work generally does not involve structural elements and is therefore not subject to the aforementioned ordinance, nor does it need to comply with the related requirements for worker registration and presentation of registration cards. As for truss-out bamboo scaffolding ("flying scaffolds") that may be involved in private residential renovation work, workers are required to hold the relevant safety training certificate.
The Construction Workers Registration Card issued by the Construction Industry Council (the Council) not only features the holder's photo but also contains an embedded electronic chip with the holder's registration information. The registration card includes a registration number and a unique QR code, and the Council's logo is printed with optically variable ink to enhance anti-counterfeiting capabilities. Furthermore, the safety training certificates issued by the Council are printed with a certificate number and a laser anti-counterfeit label.
If immigration officers have any suspicion about the documents seized, they will follow up seriously, including contacting the relevant issuing authorities of the documents concerned or Government departments to verify the authenticity of the documents. Strict enforcement actions will be taken against any persons who possess or use false instruments.
The Task Force will continue to closely monitor the crime trend of illegal employment, formulate and adjust the response strategies in a timely manner, and combat illegal employment in multiple key industries in a targeted manner, so as to safeguard the employment opportunities of the local workforce.
Thank you.
Ends/Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Issued at HKT 13:00
Issued at HKT 13:00
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