The Immigration Department (ImmD) has completed a comprehensive review on the relevant visa policy in its latest effort to prevent the use of false information by applicants for entry to Hong Kong under various talent admission schemes, Acting Secretary for Security Michael Cheuk said today.

Mr Cheuk told lawmakers that the ImmD has been assessing each application for a student visa or visa to Hong Kong under the talent admission schemes in a rigorous manner.

Law enforcement agencies will conduct thorough investigations and take resolute enforcement action against suspected cases involving furnishing fraudulent academic qualifications or other false proofs, he added.

From January 2022 to December 2024, 25 people were arrested on suspicion of using fraudulent academic qualifications to enrol in local post-secondary institutions.

Of these arrestees, eight have been charged, three of whom have been convicted and five have been released on bail pending trial. The cases of the other 17 people are under investigation.

Among the convicted people, the highest sentence was imprisonment for 17 weeks. The ImmD has declared the visas or entry permits of these convicted persons invalid according to the law.

On the other hand, the ImmD has completed a comprehensive review on the relevant visa policy, and set out the updated requirements clearly on its website.

Apart from stepping up random checks on general employment visa applications, the ImmD requires all applicants of Categories B and C under the Top Talent Pass Scheme and the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, to submit verification proof of academic qualifications issued by designated third-party credential verification organisations or the awarding institutions.

Additionally, Police have been working closely with relevant Mainland enforcement authorities in timely referral of information on Mainland intermediary agencies involved in fraudulent academic qualification cases in Hong Kong, to the Mainland authorities for follow-up.

As at December 2024, the force had referred information on 14 suspected unscrupulous Mainland intermediary agencies or intermediaries to the Mainland authorities.

Mr Cheuk noted that in respect of the recent cases involving false proofs and unscrupulous intermediaries, the ImmD has been maintaining close communication and exchanging intelligence with relevant Mainland authorities under an established mechanism.

The Mainland and Hong Kong will conduct joint enforcement actions against relevant illegal acts in a timely manner, he added.