LCQ19: Number of holders of One-way Permits entering Hong Kong

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     Following is a question by the Dr Hon Fernando Cheung and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, in the Legislative Council today (November 29):

Question:

     Over the years, Mainland residents who wish to come to settle in Hong Kong must apply for Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao (commonly known as One-way Permits (OWPs)) from the Public Security Bureau Offices where their household registrations are kept. According to the guidelines on Mainland residents' applications for proceeding to settle in Hong Kong published by the Mainland Public Security Bureau, Mainland residents to whom any one of the following situations is applicable may apply to proceed to settle in Hong Kong: (i) one's spouse is settled in Hong Kong (who may at the same time apply for bringing along his/her children aged under 18); (ii) one is aged above 18, under 60 and needs to go to Hong Kong to take care of his/her parents settled in Hong Kong both of whom are aged above 60 and have no children in Hong Kong; (iii) one is aged above 60, has no children on the Mainland, and is dependent on his/her children aged above 18 settled in Hong Kong; (iv) one is aged under 18 and is dependent on his/her parents settled in Hong Kong; and (v) one is a child of a Hong Kong permanent resident. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of Mainland residents who came to settle in Hong Kong on OWPs in each of the past 10 years, together with breakdowns by the age group to which they belonged (i.e. 0 to 15, 16 to 24, 25 to 40, 41 to 64 and 65 years old or above) and gender;

(2) of breakdowns, of the number of Mainland residents who came to settle in Hong Kong on OWPs in each of the past 10 years, by the following reasons for which they were issued OWPs: (i) to reunite with one's spouse (who was not accompanied by any children aged under 18), (ii) to reunite with one's spouse (who was accompanied by his/her children aged under 18), (iii) to take care of parents, (iv) being dependent on his/her parents, (v) being dependent on his/her children and (vi) other reasons;

(3) in respect of the cases in which OWPs were issued for "other reasons" as mentioned in (2), of the 10 most common situations; and

(4) whether it will subject the entry of Mainland residents who come to settle in Hong Kong on OWPs to its vetting and approval; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     According to Article 22 of the Basic Law and the interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 1999, Mainland residents who wish to enter Hong Kong for whatever reason must apply to the relevant authorities of their residential districts for approval in accordance with the relevant national laws and administrative regulations, and must hold valid documents issued by the relevant authorities. Accordingly, Mainland residents who wish to settle in Hong Kong for family reunion must apply for Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao (commonly known as One-way Permits (OWPs)) from the exit and entry administration offices of the public security authority at the places of their household registration in the Mainland. My reply to the question is as follows:

(1) The numbers of holders of OWPs entering Hong Kong from 2007 to 2016 and their breakdown by age group and gender are as follows:

		2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
0-4	Male	1 393	1 555	1 683	1 690	1 445
	Female	1 289	1 487	1 595	1 654	1 385
5-14	Male	3 332	3 754	3 424	2 745	2 427
	Female	3 053	3 379	3 031	2 464	2 206
15-24	Male	2 230	3 033	2 997	2 659	2 686
	Female	2 284	3 084	3 327	3 162	3 028
25-34	Male	1 069	1 098	1 621	1 665	1 742
	Female	9 620	12 116	16 318	12 927	11 745
35-44	Male	2 074	2 255	2 153	1 955	3 058
	Female	4 298	5 933	8 018	7 256	8 156
45-54	Male	926	1 082	1 031	895	1 344
	Female	1 065	1 546	2 152	2 277	2 731
55-64	Male	241	283	292	296	404
	Female	549	585	560	614	673
65+	Male	142	158	159	151	138
	Female	300	262	226	214	211
Total	Male	11 407	13 218	13 360	12 056	13 244
	Female	22 458	28 392	35 227	30 568	30 135
	Both sexes	33 865	41 610	48 587	42 624	43 379

		2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
0-4	Male	1 371	1 693	2 092	1 678	1 838
	Female	1 378	1 582	1 890	1 569	1 703
5-14	Male	2 198	2 023	2 004	1 928	3 440
	Female	1 978	1 936	1 883	1 740	3 048
15-24	Male	2 319	2 027	2 086	2 410	5 660
	Female	2 484	2 325	2 321	2 380	5 160
25-34	Male	2 697	2 258	1 716	1 808	2 069
	Female	11 273	10 543	9 649	8 644	9 370
35-44	Male	6 331	4 172	3 244	2 676	3 725
	Female	11 446	8 373	7 587	6 911	8 299
45-54	Male	2 885	1 821	1 291	1 650	4 189
	Female	4 456	3 069	2 420	2 686	4 700
55-64	Male	1 346	975	665	709	1 492
	Female	1 898	1 647	1 125	1 012	1 674
65+	Male	247	258	244	262	586
	Female	339	329	279	275	434
Total	Male	19 394	15 227	13 342	13 121	22 999
	Female	35 252	29 804	27 154	25 217	34 388
	Both sexes	54 646	45 031	40 496	38 338	57 387

(2) and (3) A breakdown of the numbers of holders of OWPs entering Hong Kong by category from 2007 to 2016 is as follows:

	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Holders of Certificate of Entitlement	4 487	4 490	5 025	4 662	3 758
Spouses separated for 10 years or more and their accompanying children	823	1 041	829	651	619
Other categories	28 555	36 079	42 733	37 311	39 002
Total	33 865	41 610	48 587	42 624	43 379

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Holders of Certificate of Entitlement	3 750	4 329	4 938	3 655	3 508
Spouses separated for 10 years or more and their accompanying children	733	742	791	753	870
Other categories	50 163	39 960	34 767	33 930	53 009
Total	54 646	45 031	40 496	38 338	57 387

Notes:
1. Arrivals under "other categories" include those who come to Hong Kong for reunion with their spouses separated for less than 10 years and their accompanying children aged under 18; who are aged above 18 and under 60 and need to come to Hong Kong to take care of their parents settled in Hong Kong both of whom are aged above 60 and have no children in Hong Kong; who are aged above 60 and have no children in the Mainland, and have to depend on their children aged above 18 settled in Hong Kong; or who are aged under 18 and have to depend on their parents settled in Hong Kong; "overage children", etc.

2. The above figures are compiled from the statistics based on the information collected from holders of Permit for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao upon their entry into Hong Kong.

(4) OWPs are documents issued by the relevant authorities in the Mainland. The application, approval and issuance of OWPs fall within the remit of the Mainland authorities. The Immigration Department (ImmD) facilitates the processing of OWP applications by the Mainland authorities at case level, including issuing Certificates of Entitlement to the Right of Abode to children of Hong Kong permanent residents, and when necessary, rendering assistance in verifying the supporting documents submitted by the applicants and their claimed relationship with relatives in Hong Kong (e.g. husband and wife, parent and child). Where a case is found to be suspicious or when factual discrepancies are identified, ImmD will inform the Mainland authorities and request the applicant to provide further documentary proof. ImmD will also assist the Mainland authorities in investigating cases involving OWPs obtained through unlawful means. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region does not consider that there is any need or justification to request the Mainland authorities to consider changing the existing OWP scheme or approval arrangements.

Ends/Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Issued at HKT 12:45

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