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Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, to a question by the Hon Tam Yiu-chung in the Legislative Council today (January 18):
Question:
Under the new policy implemented from April 1 last year, mainland "over-age children" of Hong Kong residents (namely, those children of Hong Kong residents on the Mainland, who (a) were below the age of 14 when their natural fathers or mothers, before November 1, 2001, obtained their Hong Kong identity cards; and (b) turned 14 while awaiting approval of their applications for One-way Permits (commonly known as "OWPs") and hence lost their approval status) may apply for OWPs for settlement in Hong Kong. The mainland public security authorities indicated that they would accept such applications by phases, and the first batch of applicants would be those "over-age children" whose natural fathers or mothers are Hong Kong residents who had obtained their Hong Kong identity cards before 1980. Moreover, the Secretary for Security said that the consensus with the mainland authorities was that such applications would be processed by making use of the accumulated unused OWP quotas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(a) the total number of applications received by the mainland authorities since April 1 last year from "over-age children" for settlement in Hong Kong; the number of OWP applications approved so far;
(b) the average time required by the mainland authorities for vetting and approving each OWP application from "over-age children", as well as the estimated time required to finish processing all OWP applications from the aforesaid first batch of "over-age children"; and
(c) when the mainland authorities will start to receive OWP applications from other "over-age children", including those whose natural fathers or mothers are Hong Kong residents who obtained their Hong Kong identity cards in and after 1980?
Reply:
President,
Pursuant to Article 22 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 Permit (OWP) from the Exit and Entry Administration Offices of the Public Security Bureau (PSB) 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.
In response to the request of Hong Kong residents and their Mainland "overage children" for reunion in Hong Kong, the Central Government decided that, starting from April 1, 2011, Mainland eligible "overage children" of Hong Kong residents, ie Mainland residents who were below the age of 14 when their natural fathers or mothers, on or before November 1, 2001, obtained their Hong Kong identity card and whose natural fathers or mothers still reside in Hong Kong on April 1, 2011, may apply for OWP to Hong Kong. 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 obtained their first Hong Kong identity cards before 1980.
Replies to the three parts of the question are as follows:
(a) According to the information provided by the Mainland authorities, from April 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011, the authorities received 28,286 applications by "overage children" for settling in Hong Kong, among which 5,335 OWP applications were approved.
(b) During the assessment process, the Mainland authorities will normally interview the fathers or mothers of the applicants, and verify information, such as the date when the fathers or mothers of the applicants obtained their Hong Kong identity cards, through the Immigration Department of the HKSAR. Therefore, the assessment of applications by "overage children" may be more time-consuming than normal OWP. On average, assessment of applications could be concluded within a few months, upon receipt of all supporting documents. The Mainland authorities are further refining the assessment procedures with a view to shortening the assessment time.
(c) The Mainland authorities will endeavour to complete processing of the applications received in the first phase. Depending on progress, the Mainland authorities intend to accept second phase applications in the first half of this year. The Mainland authorities will announce the details later.
Ends/Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Issued at HKT 12:51
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