LCQ8: Immigration figures
8.7.2020

Following is a question by Hon Claudia Mo and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, in the Legislative Council today (July 8): Question: ããRegarding immigration figures, will the Government inform this Council: (1) of the monthly number of travellers, since November last year, who entered and exited Hong Kong via the various boundary control points, with a breakdown by traveller type (namely Hong Kong residents, Mainland travellers and other travellers); (2)ãof the respective numbers of applications submitted under the following schemes that the Government received and approved in each month since November last year: the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates, the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals, the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, and the Technology Talent Admission Scheme; the number of approved applications the applicants of which have entered the territory and, among such applicants, the number of those who came from Hubei Province; (3) of the monthly number of Mainland residents, since November last year, who came to Hong Kong for settlement on Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao (commonly known as "One-way Permits"), with a breakdown by place of household registration; (4) of the monthly number of Mainland travellers, since January this year, who visited Hong Kong, with a breakdown by the type of travel documents they held; and (5) of the total number of person-times, since the implementation of the regulations under which persons arriving at Hong Kong shall be subject to 14-day compulsory quarantine, of persons coming from the Mainland, Macao and Taiwan to visit Hong Kong each month who were exempted from complying with the relevant requirement, and a breakdown of the number by such places? Reply: President, In consultation with the Food and Health Bureau (FHB), our reply to the question raised by the Hon Claudia Mo is as follows: (1) The respective monthly figures of inbound and outbound passenger trips made by Hong Kong residents, Mainland visitors and visitors from other countries or places at various immigration control points between November 2019 and May 2020 are set out at Annex. (2) The statistics on applications received and approved for admission into Hong Kong under the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG), the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP), the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS), the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES) and the Technology Talent Admission Scheme (TechTAS) between November 2019 and May 2020 are tabulated as follows: IANG 2019 2020 November December January February March April May Number of applications 448 291 259 107 278 139 264 Number of applications approved 428 288 242 68 274 69 287 Note: The applications approved in a particular month may not be the ones received in the same month. ASMTP 2019 2020 November December January February March April May Number of applications 1 202 866 883 481 665 485 884 Number of applications approved 1 006 658 917 0 452 41 982 Note: The applications approved in a particular month may not be the ones received in the same month. QMAS 2019 2020 November December January February March April May Number of applications 696 618 239 346 282 434 308 Number of applications with quota(s) allotted 0 237 0 0 0 293 0 Note 1: The applications with quota(s) allotted in a particular month may not be the ones received in the same month. Note 2: After completing preliminary processing of the applications, the Immigration Department (ImmD) will submit them to the Advisory Committee on Admission of Quality Migrants and Professionals (the Advisory Committee) for further advice. The Advisory Committee will conduct regular selection exercises on a quarterly basis and recommend to the Director of Immigration about quota allocation. CIES* 2019 2020 November December January February March April May Number of applications 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Number of applications approved 1 4 0 0 4 4 4 * CIES has been suspended with effect from January 15, 2015. However, ImmD will continue to process the applications received before the suspension in accordance with the rules of CIES. TechTAS 2019 2020 November December January February March April May Number of applications 3 7 2 6 11 3 14 Number of applications approved 1 5 3 0 8 2 22 Note: The applications approved in a particular month may not be the ones received in the same month. ããOther statistics mentioned in the question are not regularly compiled and maintained by ImmD. (3) Between November 2019 and May 2020, a total of 8 014 persons entered Hong Kong on the strength of One-way Permits (OWPs) (i.e. Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao). According to the information that they provided voluntarily upon entry into Hong Kong, the monthly numbers of these OWP holders by reference to their provinces of origin are as follows: 2019 2020 (Note) November December January February March April May Guangdong Province 1 375 1 673 1 976 106 0 0 0 Fujian Province 291 247 376 22 0 0 0 Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 95 74 96 1 0 0 0 Hunan Province 70 82 102 4 0 0 0 Sichuan Province 63 68 99 6 0 0 0 Hubei Province 83 83 60 0 0 0 0 Hainan Province 32 50 35 3 0 0 0 Chongqing 31 37 37 3 0 0 0 Others 218 219 282 15 0 0 0 Total 2 258 2 533 3 063 160 0 0 0 Note: Generally, OWP holders are allowed to enter Hong Kong via the Lo Wu Control Point only. In response to the development of COVID-19 epidemic, the HKSAR Government has suspended the passenger clearance services at the Lo Wu Control Point since February 4, 2020. (4) The monthly numbers of arrivals of Mainland visitors between January and May 2020 (Note 1) by type of endorsement/travel document are tabulated as follows: January February March April May Endorsement for individual visit "One trip per week" endorsement 500 354 4 389 0 1(Note 2) 0 Single or double-entry endorsement (Note 3) 857 363 4 599 8(Note 3) 3(Note 3) 5(Note 3) Endorsement for group visit 425 989 1 729 13(Note 4) 0 0 Endorsement for business visit 68 577 3 726 11(Note 5) 1(Note 5) 4(Note 5) Endorsement for visiting relatives 230 283 16 153 7 599 2 520 4 870 Other endorsement 77 690 2 760 284 73 166 Chinese Passport 341 669 62 024 18 928 236 425 Other travel documents 18 669 1 336 682 111 153 Total 2 520 594 96 716 27 525 2 945 5 623 Note 1: In response to the development of COVID-19 epidemic, the HKSAR Government has suspended passenger clearance services at most of the control points in phases with effect from end-January 2020: â West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, Hung Hom, Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok, China Ferry Terminal and Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal (with effect from January 30, 2020); â Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, Lok Ma Chau and Macau Ferry Terminal (with effect from February 4, 2020); and â Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (with effect from the afternoon of February 5, 2020). Note 2: Including one Mainland private air crew member arriving from the Mainland and disembarking at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) who was exempted from the 14-day compulsory quarantine arrangement (the arrangement). Note 3: Including 10 Mainland private air crew members arriving from the Mainland and disembarking at HKIA who were exempted from the arrangement, two Mainland visitors arriving from Macao via the control point at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port (HZMB HKP) before the implementation of the compulsory quarantine measure on travellers arriving from Macao starting from March 25, 2020, one Mainland visitor arriving from the Mainland via the control point at HZMB HKP who was exempted from the arrangement and three Mainland visitors arriving from the Mainland via Shenzhen Bay Control Point who were exempted from the arrangement. Note 4: Including 11 Mainland private air crew members arriving from the Mainland and disembarking at HKIA who were exempted from the arrangement and two Mainland visitors arriving from Macao via the control point at HZMB HKP before the implementation of the compulsory quarantine measure on travellers arriving from Macao starting from March 25, 2020. Note 5: Including five Mainland private air crew members arriving from the Mainland and disembarking at HKIA who were exempted from the arrangement, one Mainland visitor arriving from abroad via HKIA before the implementation of the new immigration control measure on March 25, 2020, one Mainland visitor arriving from the Mainland via HKIA who was exempted from the arrangement, five Mainland visitors arriving from Macao via the control point at HZMB HKP before the implementation of the compulsory quarantine measure on travellers arriving from Macao starting from March 25, 2020 and four Mainland visitors arriving from the Mainland via Shenzhen Bay Control Point who were exempted from the arrangement. (5) Pursuant to the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap. 599C) and Compulsory Quarantine of Persons Arriving at Hong Kong from Foreign Places Regulation (Cap. 599E), with the exception of persons exempted by the Chief Secretary for Administration according to the relevant regulation, all persons entering Hong Kong are currently subject to 14-day compulsory quarantine. The Department of Health (DH) will arrange 14-day medical surveillance for persons exempted under the above regulation during their stay in Hong Kong. Persons under medical surveillance are required to wear masks and check temperature twice daily, and should report to DH if they feel unwell. In addition, the exempted persons are also subject to temperature check and health declaration procedures performed by DH at the boundary control points during arrival clearance. According to information provided by DH, the number of Notification of Medical Surveillance issued to exempted persons (including those exempted under Cap. 599C and 599E) at various boundary control points as at May 2020 are as follows &ndash; Month Number of Notification of Medical Surveillance issued to exempted persons at various boundary control points in service February 2020 93 602 March 2020 39 211 April 2020 36 039 May 2020 40 220 Note 1: Boundary control points in service include Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port, Shenzhen Bay, Man Kam To, Lok Ma Chau and Sha Tau Kok. Note 2: Exempted persons are issued with new Notification of Medical Surveillance every time when they enter Hong Kong (except in cases set out in note 3 below). Note 3: "Crew members of aircraft who need to commute to and from foreign places, Mainland, Macao and Taiwan for performance of necessary duties" with valid Notification of Medical Surveillance issued in the past 14 days would not be issued new Notification of Medical Surveillance afresh every time they enter Hong Kong. In addition, from February 25, 2020 onwards, DH has streamlined the procedures for issuing Notification of Medical Surveillance to "cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers and necessary accompanying personnel". Those with valid Notification of Medical Surveillance issued in the past 14 days would not be issued with new Notification of Medical Surveillance afresh every time they enter Hong Kong. DH does not maintain the breakdown figures of Notification of Medical Surveillance issued to the exempted persons by country/places.