 |
| Immigration Department |
The Immigration Department plans to increase on Sept. 8 the fees it charges for its services to recover the costs incurred in providing them.
The list of 28 fees to be increased include that for issuing and extending visas, which will rise from $230 to $330.
A bill that proposes the fee revisions will be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting on July 2, and will take effect once approved.
 |
| Basahin ang detalye! |
“The Government sets and reviews various fees and charges according to the 'cost recovery' and 'user pays' principles, while fees charged by the Government should in general be set at levels adequate to recover the full cost of providing the goods or services," a government spokesman said.
“Taking into consideration that it is impractical to recover the full cost of all fees in one go, the fees of the services concerned will be increased by 3 per cent to 51 per cent with a view to achieving full cost recovery gradually. The fees will have little impact on the daily lives of most people and limited impact on general business activities," the spokesman added.
The proposed increases are expected to generate an additional $104 million in annual revenue oncwe they take effect in September.
According to documents submitted to the Legislative Council by the Security Bureau and Immigration Department on Monday, the proposed increases will affect 28 services, with two increasing by less than 10 %, six rising 10 to 20%, and the remaining 20 all going up by more than 20%.
The key changes include a 13-percent increase for a 48-page HKSAR passport, or from $460 to $520 for applicants 16 years old or older, and $230 to $260 for children below 16.
The 32-page HKSAR passport will cost $430 for applicants aged 16 or older, from the previous $370; and from $185 to $215 for those younger than 16.
The other fee adjustments will include a 20% rise in transit visas, which will cost $170 from $120, and multiple HKSAR re-entry permits jumping from $935 to $1,350.
The visa fee increase is likely to create concern among foreign domestic workers, especially those who are terminated but are pursuing claims and cases against their employers, a process that could last for days, if not months.
It could also impact those who are trying to convince Immigration to let them stay and process a new employment contract after their previous one was prematurely terminated on unfair ground.
This means that they will have to worry not only about having a place to stay while they wait for the outcome of their cases or applications, but also about visa renewal fees and other expenses while they remain in Hong Kong.
