The Immigration Department aims to implement the Automated Passenger and Vehicle Clearance Systems in phases from the end of the year.

Director of Immigration Lai Tung-kwok said today legislators have approved funds for the systems. The tender process is coming to an end and the contract will be awarded soon.

Mr Lai said the systems will support self-service immigration clearance by Hong Kong permanent residents holding smart identity cards.

Outlining the department's future development, Mr Lai said it has formed a working group to study the feasibility of integrating biometrics into the HKSAR passport.

The move is in line with a global development championed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation to enhance the security standards of travel documents. The findings and recommendations of the working group are expected to be available this year.

The department is planning to apply facial recognition technology at immigration control points. A pilot system will be procured this year to test the effectiveness of the technology in terms of identifying suspect arrivals and immigration offenders, including those who try to circumvent our control by concealing their identity.

On the existing Immigration Control Automation System, Mr Lai said the technology is outdated and the system will be replaced in the second quarter. The replacement system will enable officers to handle anticipated upsurges in traffic at an increasing number of control points.

To cope with the increases in workload, the department has been given permission to recruit 230 staff, and more that 18,000 applications have been received. The first batch are expected to start work in the summer.

Last year the department conducted 5,739 operations and arrested 17,626 people - 16,548 illegal workers and 1,078 employers. The number of operations and arrests increased by 60.3% and 36.6% respectively compared with 3,580 operations and 12,908 arrests (involving 11,990 illegal workers and 918 employers) in 2002.

Speaking on the progress of the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, Mr Lai said as at December 31, 150 applications (together with 172 dependant applications) had been received and 54 were granted (19 Formal Approval and 35 Approval-In-Principle).

Meanwhile, 1,762 applications have been received under the new Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents & Professionals and 1,350 applications have been approved.