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| Those turned away don't even get to see the arrivals hall of the HK Airport |
If you’re planning to visit Hong Kong and use the trip to work here illegally, think again.
Hong Kong’s immigration director Benson Kwok said that mere suspicions that a visitor would work illegally here could be enough reason to deny entry to that person.
Kwok said in an interview with RTHK today, July 6, that more than 12,000 people were denied entry to Hong Kong in the first five months of the year alone.
"There were a number of reasons, for example if we were suspicious about their reasons for coming to Hong Kong, like they could be here to work illegally and affect the job opportunities of locals," Kwok said.
The other reasons were the incomplete travel documents presented by the visitor, like not having a visa as required by Hong Kong for citizens of certain countries.
There were also those who were turned away because immigration suspected that they were carrying forged travel documents.
While 12,000 may seem a lot in terms of actual figures, that represents only 0.06 percent of the 20 million visitors to the city for the same period, said Kwok.
He said young Hongkongers who left the city in the wake of the unrest in 2019 are welcome to return if they are patriotice and love Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong people enjoy the freedom to enter or leave the SAR. So long as the person didn't violate the law, the Immigration Department will not stop him or her, never mind asking the person questions," he said.
Kwok added that now that more young people in Hong Kong travel to the mainland in their free time, they get to have a better understanding of the importance of safeguarding national security.
