Last year saw 205.9 million passengers and cross-boundary vehicles pass through Hong Kong's control points, up 5.3% on 2004, Director of Immigration Lai Tung-kwok says.

Reviewing the department's work in 2005, Mr Lai said more than 10 million Mainland visitors have come to Hong Kong under the Individual Visit Scheme since its launch in July 2003, representing 36.1 % of total Mainland visitors.

Lo Wu is the busiest control point with average daily passenger traffic of 249,000. Passenger traffic at air and sea control points also soared to 26 million and 21.5 million, up 7.4 % and 0.5%.

Overnight traffic at Lok Ma Chau has been increasing steadily, with an average of 14,900 passengers travelling daily from midnight to 6.30am.

Over 200 e-channels expected

Ninety-six automated passenger clearance channels were in operation last year with four others for cross-boundary drivers at Lok Ma Chau. Mr Lai expects more than 200 e-channels will have been installed by the middle of the year.

On the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, Mr Lai said 1,110 applications had been received since its launch in October 2003. The reported personal assets amount to an average of $26.03 million per applicant.

The year also saw 4,029 applications under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents & Professionals. According to statistics, 1.5 additional posts are created for the local job market for each professional admitted.

Mr Lai said the number of forged travel documents detected recorded a 7.4% year-on-year dip to 2,334, adding the drop reflects the effectiveness of enforcement measures in curbing clandestine migration.

Immigration investigators conducted 6,497 operations against illegal employment, with 12,468 illegal workers and 1,254 employers arrested.

Self-service clearance to extend

Mr Lai said the self-service immigration clearance service may be extended to non-permanent Hong Kong residents this year.

On the appointment of civil celebrants of marriages, he expects the first batch will be named in the second quarter, when the public will be able to enjoy more flexible marriage solemnisation services.

To enhance the security of travel documents $153 million has been allocated to the department for introducing biometric Hong Kong passports.

Mr Lai said the ePassport will contain a non-contact integrated circuit chip that stores the holder's photo image and personal particulars. A new system for the issue of the ePassport is being developed for implementation early next year.