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Some of those removed since the new policy took effect in 2022 |
The Immigration Department has informed the Legislative Council that it removed 2,219 unsubstantiated non-refoulement claimants from Hong Kong in 2024. This represents a 24% increase compared with that in 2023.
The “unsubstantiated non-refoulement claimant” term refers to
non-Chinese people who were unable to present credible evidence to support their application against being sent back, or refouled, to their home countries.
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According to the
Immigration report, this is in line with the updated removal policy that took
effect on Dec. 7, 2022. Under this policy, Immigration may generally proceed
with the removal of an unsubstantiated claimant whose judicial review case has
been dismissed by the Court of First Instance.
Since the implementation
of the policy, a total of 4,070 failed asylum seekers have been removed from
Hong Kong, said Immigration.
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PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
At the same time, it has
speeded up the screening of non-refoulement claims, with over 2,700 such claims
being determined last year. However, over 95% of the claimants rejected by
Immigration have appealed against the decisions.
As of the end of 2024,
there were about 750 such appeals pending decision.
A new system rolled out by
Hong Kong on Sept 3 last year is expected to lessen the number of
non-refoulement claimants entering Hong Kong.
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PINDUTIN DITO |
Under the Advance
Passenger Information (API) System, airlines are required to transmit advance
information to Immigration about flights and passengers heading to Hong Kong
when checking in travellers. The system then gives the airline staff directions
on whether to allow or disallow specific travellers to board the Hong Kong-bound aircraft.
However, the new mechanism
is being rolled out in phases, given that there more than 100 airlines that
need to be connected to the system.
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Basahin ang detalye! |
A transitional period of 12 months is provided for the new system, which means it will be fully implemented on Sept 1 this year.