By Wynna Wong
Hong Kong rejected more than 12,000 visitors from entering the city in the first five months of 2025, according to a top immigration official, who has said the move signals his department鈥檚 firm stance on border control.
Director of Immigration Benson Kwok Joon-fung also said on Sunday that the 12,452 rejected visitors represented about 0.062 per cent of the nearly 20 million inbound travellers recorded over the same period.
鈥淭here are a few reasons 鈥 for example, we might suspect their purpose for coming to Hong Kong is questionable, such as potentially coming to work illegally,鈥 he told a radio programme.
In such cases, allowing them to enter the city risked affecting job opportunities for residents, he added.
鈥淭here are also some who do not hold proper travel documents, for instance, not having applied for a visa to come to Hong Kong 鈥 And then there are also cases where we suspect the travel documents are forged.鈥
Kwok also said his staff 鈥渙ccasionally鈥 faced resistance from visitors who were denied entry, but stressed that his officers were trained to handle such situations.
鈥淪ome might be unreasonable, hoping that by raising their voices, they can make us change our minds and grant them entry,鈥 he said.
鈥淲e have a responsibility to guard the southern gate of our country,鈥 Kwok said, adding that his department would continue to work closely with its mainland counterpart.
Kwok also sought to address concerns among young local residents who had immigrated overseas after the 2019 anti-government protests, and said that Hong Kong residents maintained their freedom of entry and exit.
鈥淚f they haven鈥檛 committed any illegal acts, the Immigration Department basically won鈥檛 intercept them, let alone question them further,鈥 he said.
Kwok discussed key upgrades aimed at streamlining the immigration process, including the anticipated implementation of facial-recognition technology for eligible Hong Kong residents travelling to the airport by private car by the third quarter of this year.
He also revealed the co-location, cross-border arrangement at Huanggang Port – which allows for passengers to go through one layer of customs clearance rather than two – was expected to commence operations sometime around 鈥渘ext year.鈥
鈥淭his clearance mode involves aligning both sides鈥 self-service e-channels or immigration counters along a boundary line,鈥 he said.
鈥淧assengers can go through exit checks on one side and immediately proceed to entry checks on the other, eliminating the need to queue twice.鈥
The crossing point had been specifically designed to accommodate the streamlined process, he added.
Kwok also shared updated figures for the Top Talent Pass Scheme, noting that more than 100,000 applications were approved between its launch in 2022 and May 31 this year.
The immigration chief pointed to its success in attracting high-profile individuals, such as renowned snooker player Ronnie O鈥橲ullivan, who became a Hong Kong resident through the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme.
World No 1 snooker player Judd Trump also became a Hong Kong resident under the same scheme in December last year, while former world champion Mark Selby has said he is considering immigrating to the city with his family.