The year 2023 witnessed Hong Kong's emergence from the pandemic and return to full normalcy. The Immigration Department (ImmD) rendered full support to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government by playing a pivotal role in leveraging Hong Kong's unique strengths under the strong backup of the Motherland while being closely connected to the world. During the year, the ImmD swiftly resumed operation of all control points through concerted efforts with relevant departments in Hong Kong and the Mainland, striving to provide consistently efficient immigration clearance services. We kept on enhancing various talent admission schemes to dovetail with the high quality development of Hong Kong, and introduced multiple measures to meet the keen public demand for identity card and travel document application and collection services subsequent to the full resumption of normal travel, bringing convenience and benefits to the public. As a disciplined service which attaches equal importance to law enforcement and service delivery, each member of the ImmD dedicated to carrying on the finest traditions of the department is to take up the glorious mission of safeguarding national security and serving the public with a people-oriented approach, fulfil duties with determination and perseverance, and contribute to Hong Kong's full-speed advancement from stability to prosperity.
Since the resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland on 6 February 2023, the department has made every effort to ensure the smooth and orderly operation of various immigration control points.
Since the resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland, the number of passengers passing through various control points has been on a steady rise. In 2023, the total number of passengers passing through Hong Kong's control points was over 211 million, representing a rise of 39 times as compared with that of 2022, and recovered to 70% of that in 2019. To ensure that precise deployment regarding manpower and various measures could be made at all control points to cope with the long-holiday peak travel periods after the resumption of normal travel, the ImmD maintained close liaison with relevant departments in Hong Kong and the Mainland both before and after the resumption of normal travel.
In line with the HKSAR Government's objective to attract and retain talent, the ImmD has continued to actively promote and enhance various talent admission schemes to draw more talent to Hong Kong, thereby raising the overall competitiveness. The enhancement measures include expanding the list of eligible universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme, as well as the Talent List applicable to various admission schemes; suspending the annual quota under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme and revising its point-scoring scheme; and relaxing the visa arrangements for nationals of Vietnam, Laos and Nepal, etc., with a view to promoting Hong Kong's advantages as an international talent hub and the country's gateway for talent. Our talent admission schemes were met with much enthusiasm across society. Over 220,000 applications were received under the schemes in 2023, representing a rise of nearly three times from last year. On the other hand, tying in with the government's support for the labour market, the Admission of Labour Section was established to handle visa/entry permit applications from imported workers and other related matters, so as to alleviate manpower shortage in the labour sector. The department will continue to assist the HKSAR Government in capitalising the distinctive advantages of securing the strong backup of the Motherland and the close connection to the world, and actively review the visa policies regarding countries along the Belt and Road for greater co-operation and exchanges in tourism, culture and economy between Hong Kong and these countries.
The Departmental Contingent joined the parade and assembled to form a varied pattern symbolising the ImmD's determination to remain in the frontline of safeguarding national security.
National security is the cornerstone of prosperity and stability of society. Firmly committed to the constitutional responsibility of safeguarding national security, the ImmD actively combats all crimes related to immigration offences. In 2023, we carried out large-scale enforcement operations and succeeded in neutralising a number of bogus marriage syndicates. Regarding the problem of abuse of the screening mechanism for non-refoulement claims by illegal immigrants and overstayers, the department has been maintaining close liaison with law enforcement agencies in the Mainland and combatting at source the illegal immigration of non-ethnic Chinese via the Mainland through dedicated operations. With the ongoing efforts of the department and other law enforcement units, the number of non-ethnic Chinese illegal immigrants intercepted as at the end of the year declined substantially by 74 per cent from the year's peak. Since the implementation of the updated removal policy on 7 December 2022, our removal of unsubstantiated claimants has achieved greater efficiency remarkably, leading to a substantial increase in the overall number of removals by 63 per cent as compared with that of 2022. Moreover, the Nei Kwu Correctional Institution was also included as a place of detention of the department, thereby increasing the overall detention capacity by around one-third. We will continue to review and implement effective removal policies, further enhancing the removal efficiency and deterring the abuse of the non-refoulement claim mechanism.
The ImmD has always attached great importance to the value of 'putting people first'. The Territory-wide Identity Card Replacement Exercise commenced in 2018 and ended with success on 3 March 2023. During the period, the department issued more than 8 million new smart identity cards, of which around 6.84 million were issued under the Replacement Exercise. Since the resumption of normal travel, there has been a huge demand for various identity card applications. In this connection, the department extended the service hours of four Registration of Persons (ROP) Offices, established the Kwun Tong (Temporary) Office, and launched Special Service Days for processing applications by persons who still needed replacement services for new smart identity cards after the completion of the Replacement Exercise and by those who had to replace their juvenile or adult identity cards. The series of enhancement measures greatly boosted the department's capacity of processing identity card applications, and the average weekly processing capacity increased considerably by about 1.5 times as compared with that before the pandemic.
Likewise, the demand for HKSAR passport-related services has also surged significantly since the resumption of normal travel. In 2023, the number of passport applications received by the department reached a record high. To meet the public demand for application for and collection of passports, the service hours of individual offices in various districts were extended according to the actual circumstances of any working days. In addition, to cope with the summer peak period, the department provided additional special service sessions on two consecutive Saturdays in July 2023 to enable members of the public to collect their new documents. Some Immigration Divisions of the Mainland Offices also provided outreach services to assist Hong Kong residents residing in the Mainland with application submission and collection of travel documents. We care and stand ready to make all-out efforts to provide the public with the most thoughtful services.
From April 2023 onwards, the department has additionally provided the 1868 WhatsApp assistance hotline for Hong Kong residents in distress outside Hong Kong to seek assistance by sending a message via the WhatsApp application. Moreover, in early 2023, to enhance the operational efficiency and service standards of members of the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit (AHU), the department, in the capacity of programme operator, passed the assessment conducted by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications for inclusion of the AHU's training programme on Worldwide Emergency Assistance Services in the Qualifications Register. Looking ahead, we will continue to adjust our strategies and work flexibly, move with the times, and introduce more services that meet public needs.
To meet the surging demand for application for and collection of identity cards, the department established the Registration of Persons - Kwun Tong (Temporary) Office and extended the service hours of ROP Offices to boost the capacity of processing identity card applications.
The department won the Grand Award of The Ombudsman's Awards for Public Organisations for the sixth time, an achievement surpassing all others over the years in terms of high frequency of winning the Grand Award.
The redevelopment of the Huanggang Port is one of the key projects under the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development blueprint, facilitating smooth and efficient people and cargo flows within the area. The department has been maintaining close liaison with the authorities of both Hong Kong and the Mainland in doing all the preparatory work to complement the HKSAR Government's efforts in forging ahead with measures to increase the capacity of control points and clearance efficiency.
The ImmD has been actively adopting advanced technologies and innovative thinking in various business areas to address the needs of members of the public and society. Following the implementation of 'Contactless e-Channel' and 'Flight Token e-Channels', enhanced service quality has also been consistently achieved for more eligible Mainland visitors to use the e-Channel service. In addition, starting from 21 July 2023, the e-Channel service has been further extended to foreign domestic helpers, non-local students and imported workers. On top of that, smart living elements have also been incorporated into our daily public services, such as the introduction of new electronic services for online registration of births and deaths, which enable the public to gain an experience of more caring and convenient services.
To take forward the development of the Greater Bay Area and improve infrastructure connectivity, the HKSAR Government has been forging ahead with a series of measures to increase the capacity of control points and clearance efficiency, which include the redevelopment of the Huanggang Port. It is planned to implement the 'co-location arrangement' at the new Huanggang Port and the adoption of a new clearance mode of 'collaborative inspection and joint clearance' is being actively explored. For enhanced clearance facilitation, the ImmD will continue to maintain close liaison with the Mainland authorities and boost the clearance capacity of various control points.
The department launched the Immigration Department Youth Ambassador Programme in November 2023, which aims to identify and nurture more young talent who are committed individuals with aspirations and a willingness to strive for the future of the country and Hong Kong.
'Hong Kong will have a bright future only when its young people have good career prospects'. The ImmD has all along attached great importance to the efforts in patriotic education for young people and is committed to raising their sense of patriotism and awareness of national security. The Immigration Department Youth Leaders Corps (IDYL), a youth uniformed group actively promoted by the department since 2013, has entered its tenth year and successfully nurtured many outstanding members. The department will continue to strengthen the IDYL's training in order to assist members to combine reading and travelling as well as understand the country's latest developments and achievements from multiple perspectives. In 2023, the post-secondary student team 'IDYL Plus' was also established to enable members to continue their IDYL training after being admitted to post-secondary institutes. These members would take senior leadership roles and share their personal experiences with fellow young team members, thus passing the knowledge from one generation to the next. In fact, some IDYL members have already joined the ImmD after graduation. It is expected that in future more students can lay a solid foundation with the benefit of the IDYL's training, unleash their potential after entering the job market and become a new generation of young people with an affection for our country and Hong Kong and global perspectives. Besides, the department launched the Immigration Department Youth Ambassador Programme in November 2023 and appointed eight Hong Kong students who are currently studying in Beijing as Youth Ambassadors. Diversified training will be arranged for them to gain an in-depth understanding of the operations of the HKSAR Government and the scope of our work, so as to assemble a youth force for Hong Kong and to assist the ImmD in disseminating its information and latest developments, and act as a bridge of communication between the department and young people as well as Hong Kong residents in the Mainland.
Hong Kong embarks on a new journey from stability to prosperity with countless new opportunities, while the responsibilities shouldered and the services provided by the ImmD are also ever increasing. The new headquarters located in Tseung Kwan O will commence its operation to enhance the service facilities and provide a more comfortable working environment for our colleagues. 'Embarking on a new vision, marking a new milestone'. As the new Director of Immigration, I have the honour to witness this crucial historic moment with each and every one of you, while understanding that I have to bear heavy responsibilities through a long road ahead. I will spare no efforts in leading the ImmD to rise to the challenges and continue to go from strength to strength by upholding the departmental values of 'patriotism and perseverance' for safeguarding national security, proactively seize the key opportunities of the development of new quality productive forces in the country, and make greater contributions to the sustainable development of Hong Kong.