Hong Kong SAR Immigration Policy - Term Paper Example

 Hong Kong SAR Immigration Policy Introduction Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China (SAR) is a country in Asia that borders China and the South China Sea. The country is a highly autonomous country but shares responsibilities with China on matters of foreign policy and defence. Hong Kong is governed by a constitution referred to as the Basic Law. The Basic Law influences Hong Kong’s position on matters of immigration, governance, tourism, economics, trade, and communication. Hong Kong has a population of over seven million people of wide-ranging ethnic and racial backgrounds. The country has a high population growth rate and a high population density. An immigrant is a person who moves from one country and settle permanently in another. An immigration policy is a collection of regulations that focus on the movement of people into a country. Immigration policies provide guidelines on the transit of non-citizens into the country for temporal or permanent stay. The paper will explore the current immigration policy of Hong Kong SAR. The paper will also explore the demographic groups that the policy favours and provide an opinion on the policy. Current Immigration Policy of Hong Kong SAR Hong Kong has a pre-established immigration policy that governs all matters of movement of non-citizens into the country. The country has updated its immigration policies over time to adapt to changing demographic situations. The immigration policy indicates that all non-citizens of particular countries require a visa or an entry permit in order to cross borders into the country (IMMD, 2015). Nationals from particular countries can visit the country without the need for a visa for a temporal stay of between seven to 180 days. People with the right of abode have the right to enter Hong Kong without the need of a visa. Visas are issues to non-residents who wish to enter Hong Kong on matters of employment, education, business and leisure. Each applicant is evaluated by the state on their individual merit to enter the country (GovHK, 2015). The requirements for a visa are that the individual has a valid travel documents detailing travel into and out of the country. The individual should be free of any criminal record and should raise no security concern to the country. The applicants should have enough finances to facilitate their stay in the country without employment. The State of Hong Kong has the right to deny entry to anyone despite fulfilment of the application guidelines ((GovHK, 2015). The state has strict regulations for residents of Mainland China and Macau. The immigration policies outline that a non-citizen who has taken up residence in Hong Kong for a period of seven or more years has eligibility to apply for permanent residence. However, the rule excludes people whose status is as domestic workers or imported workers (Cortes & Pan, 2013). For investors who wish to enter Hong Kong, their net worth should be above HK$10 million for a two-year period before the application (IMMD, 2015). The applicant should have the invested six months prior to application or invest within six months after approval of application. Non-citizens and Mainland China nationals who seek residence in Hong Kong on the basis of employment are required to have high educational qualifications of skills in their particular area of work (Hawksford, 2015). Hong Kong has a Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) that attempts to attract skilled and talented non-citizens into the country (O’Regan, 2015). A permanent resident of Hong Kong can sponsor their spouse, unmarried children below 18 years, and their parents aged above 60 years to apply for residence in Hong Kong. Domestic helps are excluded as dependants (IMMD, 2015). The immigration policies provide temporary stay for non-citizens who seek education in any institution located in the country. Second generation citizens are eligible to apply for citizenship in Hong Kong if they were born outside the country, are aged between 18 and 40, and possess academic qualifications. The state has strict regulations for residents of Mainland China and Macau who wish to take up citizenship in Hong Kong. Who Does the Immigration Policy Favour? The immigration policy favours certain divisions of the demographic. Firstly, the policy favours foreigners who are highly skilled or well educated in a particular field of practice especially those skills in less prevalence in Hong Kong. Applicants with working experience in a particular industry sector benefit from the policy. The policy favours people with a wide range of talents who have immigration quotas allocated by the QMAS guidelines (Hawksford, 2015). The immigration policy favours non-residents of Hong Kong from most countries expect for nationals of Mainland China, and Macau. The law favours foreigners who have a net worth of over HK$10 million and have plans to invest in the country. The immigration policy is advantageous to second generation citizens who have a form of professional or academic qualification. The policy favours dependants to Hong Kong citizens and permanent residents. Opinion on the Policy Overall, Hong Kong SAR has implemented a relatively liberal immigration policy compared to most countries in Asia and globally. The policy is progressive for people who wish to undertake education in Hong Kong institutions at any level (GovHK, 2015). The laws can help to develop the country by attracting highly qualified and talented non-citizens. However, the policy is discriminatory towards investors with net worth of below HK$10 million which is the required minimum worth of such applicants. In my opinion, the minimum worth should be much lower to encourage small scale entrepreneurs wishing to establish businesses in the country. The laws discriminate against non-citizen domestic helpers who are ineligible to apply for permanent regardless of the period they have worked in Hong Kong (Cortes & Pan, 2013). The strict regulations on the immigration from Mainland China and Macau should be loosened. Conclusion An immigration policy is a collection of regulations that focus on the movement of people into a country. Hong Kong’s immigration policy regulates the movement of non-citizens into the country on temporal or permanent basis. Foreigners from particular nations require visas to undertake education, employment, business of leisure in the country. Non-citizens who reside in Hong Kong for more than seven years and dependants of citizens are eligible for permanent residence. The policy favours highly skilled foreigners, second generation citizens, dependants, and investors with a worth of more than HK$10 million. The immigration policy is liberal, however, the regulations discriminate against domestic helpers, imported workers, and investors with worth of less than HK$10 million. References Cortes, P., & Pan, J. (2013). Outsourcing household production: Foreign domestic workers and native labor supply in Hong Kong. Journal of Labor Economics , 31 (2), 327-371. GovHK. (2015). General Visa Requirements. The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Unit. Retrieved from: http://www.gov.hk/en/nonresidents/visarequire/general/ Hawksford. (2015). Hong Kong’s Immigration Policies. Guide Me Hong Kong. Retrieved from: http://www.guidemehongkong.com/relocation/work-visa/hong-kong-immigration-policy IMMD. (2015). Immigration Guidelines for Entry to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Immigration Department: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Retrieved from: http://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/immigration-entry-guideline.html O’Regan, S. (2015). Hong Kong Announces Enhancement Measures for Immigration Policy. China Breifing. Retrieved from: http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2015/05/07/hong-kong-announces-enhancement-measures-for-immigration-policy.html Read More