Director of Immigration Benson Kwok Joon-fung speaks during a press conference to conduct a year-end review of the Immigration Department's work in 2023 at Immigration Tower, Wan Chai on Feb 8, 2024. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)
Hong Kong’s arrivals and departures in 2023 recovered to about 70 percent of pre-COVID levels, and over 60 percent of applications under the city’s talent attraction programs were approved, the city’s immigration chief said on Thursday at a year-end review.
Benson Kwok Joon-fung, the special administrative region’s director of immigration, said 212 million cross-boundary passengers were recorded in 2023 — 39 times the level of 2022 and about 70 percent of the 2019 level. Among the 34 million visitor arrivals, 26.76 million came from the Chinese mainland and 7.24 million from other places, Kwok said.
Immigration Department has actively participated in the government’s goal of attracting talents, in 2023, the department received over 220,000 applications across various talent admission programs
During the Lunar New Year holiday, the department estimates that there will be approximately 7.5 million trips made entering and leaving Hong Kong’s control points.
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To cope with the heavy flow of people, the department will implement special clearance arrangements. At the Shenzhen Bay Port, overnight clearance will be available from Friday until next Tuesday.
The department will closely monitor the situation at control points, and if needed mobilize additional personnel and deploy extra security guards to ensure peace and order, Kwok said.
Kwok said the Immigration Department has actively participated in the government’s goal of attracting talents. In 2023, the department received over 220,000 applications across various talent admission programs, far exceeding the government’s target of luring 35,000 talents a year.
Out of these applicants, approximately 135,000 were approved, and around 90,000 people have already arrived in Hong Kong, Kwok added.
The Top Talent Pass Scheme has garnered an enthusiastic response, with about 62,000 applications and nearly 50,000 approvals, Kwok said. Launched by the government in 2022, the program aims to attract top talents from around the world who possess extensive work experience and strong academic backgrounds.
In January, the program received 4,800 applications, nearly 98 percent of which were approved, indicating that Hong Kong continues to be an attractive destination for talents, Kwok said.
In addition, the department received a record 1.45 million applications for SAR passports in 2023. More than 195,000 applications were received in March, the director said.
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From left; Deputy Director(Enforcement, Systems and Management)TAI Chi-yuen; Director of Immigration Benson KWOK Joon-fung; Deputy Director (Control, Visa and Documents)CHING Wo-mok; pose for a photo before the press conference to conduct a year-end review of the Immigration Department's work in 2023 at Immigration Tower, Wan Chai on Feb 8, 2024. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)
Kwok said the department had added an assessment of national security risks into its visa-granting procedures to block anyone who may pose a risk to the interests of Hong Kong and the nation. Kwok said the department will render support to the HKSAR government’s efforts regarding the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law this year.
He noted that the department is expected to move its offices and facilities to Tseung Kwan O from next month. The new headquarters will provide services from June 11.
The department expanded its contactless e-channel service to more residents in July 2023. By the end of the year, four million Hong Kong residents had registered for the service, resulting in around 47 million usages, Kwok said.
In 2023, the department handled about 3,000 cases where Hong Kong residents had sought assistance overseas, according to Kwok.
Contact the writer at oasishu@chinadailyhk.com
