10 September 2020
The Immigration Department (ImmD) announced today (September 10) that in order to arrange for persons who were affected by previous service suspension of the Smart Identity Card Replacement Centres (SIDCCs) due to the epidemic to replace their Hong Kong identity cards (HKICs) in an orderly manner, the Secretary for Security has made an Amendment Order to revise the call-up programme for persons born in 1957 to 1963 and 1970 to 1976, and the arrangement for members of the sixth term of the District Councils. The new arrangements are as follows:
| Eligible persons | Revised application period |
|---|---|
| Holders of existing HKICs born in 1957, 1958 or 1959 | November 16, 2019 - September 26, 2020 |
| Holders of existing HKICs born in 1960 or 1961, and members of the sixth term of District Councils | February 18 - September 26, 2020 |
| Holders of existing HKICs born in 1962 or 1963 | July 28 - January 30, 2021 |
| Holders of existing HKICs born in 1970, 1971 or 1972 | November 2, 2020 - April 30, 2021 |
| Holders of existing HKICs born in 1973 or 1974 | The application period previously announced is no longer applicable. The relevant call-up programme will be announced separately. |
| Holders of existing HKICs born in 1975 or 1976 | The application period previously announced is no longer applicable. The relevant call-up programme will be announced separately. |
The Amendment Order will be tabled at the Legislative Council on October 14, 2020 for negative vetting.
An ImmD spokesman said, "To reduce the risk of the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a result of the gathering of crowds, the ImmD again suspended the replacement of HKICs at nine SIDCCs under the Territory-wide Identity Card Replacement Exercise from July 20 to August 23 this year. The services of all SIDCCs have gradually resumed since August 24. Due to the previous service suspension of the SIDCCs, persons in the relevant age groups may be unable to apply for new HKICs in accordance with the call-up programme announced earlier. To this end, it was decided that the call-up programme should be revised so as to ensure that the Replacement Exercise will continue to be conducted in an orderly manner."
The ImmD spokesman added, "Having considered that the replacement of HKICs may be affected again if there is any sudden turn in the epidemic situation, the Amendment Order repeals the previous call-up programme for holders of HKICs born between 1973 and 1976 in order to avoid public confusion caused by multiple adjustments. When the epidemic stabilises, the Secretary for Security will designate the call-up programme for the relevant years of birth. The ImmD will then make announcements through different channels as soon as possible so that the public will be informed of the latest arrangements."
To avoid the gathering of crowds, the ImmD appeals to applicants who have not previously made appointment bookings to do so via the Internet (www.gov.hk/newicbooking), the ImmD mobile application or the 24-hour telephone booking hotline 2121 1234. Applicants can also pre-fill the application form when making appointment bookings through the Internet or the mobile application to save the waiting time.
For details of the Replacement Exercise, please visit the website www.smartid.gov.hk or call the ImmD's enquiry hotline at 2824 6111.