Author Archives: hksar gov

     To reduce the risk of the spread of the virus with an environment crowded with applicants, the Immigration Department (ImmD) will implement from tomorrow (April 6) the following crowd management and related measures at its offices.
      
     ImmD appeals to applicants who are not required to visit its offices in-person for applications, they should submit their applications by post, drop-in, online or mobile application. For those who are required to visit its offices for applications, they should make appointment bookings in advance by phone or electronic means to avoid gathering of crowds at the offices. From April 6, ImmD will distribute daily quotas tags to applicants at the Wan Chai Headquarters and other branch offices, applicants are required to attend the offices at a scheduled period specified on the quotas tags. Outside of the scheduled periods, applicants will not be allowed to remain within the office premises to avoid crowded situation. ImmD will deploy adequate manpower according to the actual circumstances with a view to complete all scheduled applications with quotas tags within the same day. ImmD said the quotas are sufficient, therefore there is not a need to queue up too early, particularly overnight, for applications. In addition, employers of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) should encourage FDHs to submit their applications by post, drop-in or online to avoid the unnecessary risk of the spread of the virus caused by long waiting time at the offices.
      
     Furthermore, ImmD also said that its East Kowloon, Sha Tin and Fo Tan branch offices will resume services from April 6 alongside with the West Kowloon and Yuen Long branch offices, providing emergency and limited public services including applications of extension of stay for FDHs (contract renewal with the same employer) and visitors (excluding Mainland visitors).
      
     Detailed services arrangements of ImmD and its offices from tomorrow (April 6) are tabulated as follows:
 

Types of Services	Sections/Offices	Addresses	Services Available
Travel Documents	Travel Documents and Nationality (Application) Section and Travel Documents (Issue) Section	4/F, Immigration Tower, Wan Chai	Urgent application and collection of Hong Kong travel documents only.   (Those who have successfully applied and chose to collect their Hong Kong travel documents at the Hong Kong Island Travel Documents Issuing Office, may call 2852 3045 during working hours for enquiries.)
	East Kowloon Branch Office	Level 2, Sceneway Plaza, Lam Tin
	West Kowloon Branch Office	G/F, 28 Kimberley Street, Tsim Sha Tsui
	Sha Tin Branch Office	3/F, Sha Tin Government Offices
	Fo Tan Branch Office	4/F, Jubilee Square, Fo Tan
	Yuen Long Branch Office	1/F, Yuen Long Government Offices

  

Types of Services	Sections/Offices	Addresses	Services Available
Identity Cards	Hong Kong Registration of Persons Office	8/F, Immigration Tower, Wan Chai	Replacement of identity cards and first registration of identity cards for new arrivals to Hong Kong only. (Identity card application/replacement service for those aged 11 and 18, and other identity card-related services are temporarily suspended.)             (For enquiries regarding identity cards, please call 3521 6565 during working hours.)
	Kowloon Registration of Persons Office	3/F, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices
	Fo Tan Registration of Persons Office	4/F, Jubilee Square, Fo Tan
	Yuen Long Registration of Persons Office	1/F, Yuen Long Government Offices

 

Types of Services	Sections/Offices	Addresses	Services Available
Visa and Extension of Stay	Foreign Domestic Helpers Section	3/F, Immigration Tower, Wan Chai	All existing services.
	Extension Section	5/F, Immigration Tower, Wan Chai
	Quality Migrants and Mainland Residents Section	6/F, Immigration Tower, Wan Chai	Application for extension of stay only.
	Other Visas and Permits Section	7/F, Immigration Tower, Wan Chai
	East Kowloon Branch Office	Level 2, Sceneway Plaza, Lam Tin	Application for extension of stay for Hong Kong residents (excluding Mainland residents admitted to Hong Kong through various admission schemes), foreign domestic helpers (contract renewal with the same employer) and visitors (excluding Mainland visitors) with appointment booking or daily quotas tags only.
	West Kowloon Branch Office	G/F, 28 Kimberley Street, Tsim Sha Tsui
	Sha Tin Branch Office	3/F, Sha Tin Government Offices
	Fo Tan Branch Office	4/F, Jubilee Square, Fo Tan
	Yuen Long Branch Office	1/F, Yuen Long Government Offices

 

Types of Services	Sections/Offices	Addresses	Services Available
Right of Abode	Right of Abode Section	25/F, Immigration Tower, Wan Chai	All existing services.
Marriage Registration	All Marriage Registries	Admiralty City Hall Cotton Tree Drive Tsim Sha Tsui Sha Tin Tuen Mun	Giving a Notice of Intended Marriage and conducting marriage ceremonies at Marriage Registries only.
Births Registration	The Births and Deaths General Register Office	3/F, Low Block, Queensway Government Offices	Birth registration only. (For those who have made appointments at other Birth Registries, the ImmD will contact them for further arrangements.)
	Kowloon Births Registry	LG/F, 28 Kimberley Street, Tsim Sha Tsui
Deaths Registration	The Births and Deaths General Register Office	3/F, Low Block, Queensway Government Offices	Registration of death only.
	Hong Kong Island Deaths Registry	18/F, Wu Chung House, Wan Chai
	Kowloon Deaths Registry	1/F, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices

 
     The above-mentioned offices will provide services during normal opening hours. For detailed opening hours of individual offices, please refer to the ImmD’s official website or mobile application. Meanwhile, other ImmD offices, including all Smart Identity Card Replacement Centres, and other public services will be temporarily closed and suspended.
 
     In addition, according to the existing arrangements by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, except for the Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and Shenzhen Bay Control Points, passenger immigration clearance services in other immigration control points will remain suspended until further notice. Besides, the operating hours of the passenger clearance services at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and Shenzhen Bay Control Points are adjusted as follows until further notice:
 
     Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Control Point:

• Operating hours of the Passenger Clearance Building (i.e. for passengers crossing the boundary by cross-boundary coaches and shuttle buses) are adjusted to 10:00 am to 8:00 pm daily; and
• Operating hours of the clearance for private cars are adjusted to 6:00 am to 10:00 pm daily while the operating hours for cargo clearance will remain operating 24 hours daily.

     Shenzhen Bay Control Point:

• Operating hours of all passenger clearance services are adjusted to 10:00 am to 8:00 pm daily while the operating hours for cargo clearance will remain unchanged (i.e. from 6:30 am to midnight daily).

     The hotline of the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit on (852) 1868 will continue to operate as normal to provide practicable assistance for Hong Kong residents in distress outside Hong Kong.

     Any changes to the above arrangements will be announced in due course. Those who have made appointments for other immigration services may proceed to the respective offices afterwards for relevant applications without the need for making new appointments.

     For enquiries, please contact the ImmD by calling the enquiry hotline at 2824 6111 or by email to enquiry@immd.gov.hk.  read more

     A Government spokesman said that 65 Hong Kong residents who took the chartered flights arranged by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government safely arrived Hong Kong from Peru today (April 5) in the afternoon. They subsequently proceeded to the Centre for Health Protection’s testing centre at the AsiaWorld-Expo for COVID-19 testing and are now awaiting the testing results. If tested negative, they can return home or proceed to a designated place to continue completion of the 14-day compulsory quarantine.

     Peru declared a state of national emergency in mid-March, imposing very strict restrictions on all land and air traffic. The Immigration Department (ImmD) thereafter received a total of 98 requests for assistance from Hong Kong residents stranded there. With the full assistance of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the HKSAR (OCMFA) and the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of Peru (Chinese Embassy in Peru), 65 of them (including an accompanying baby of a Hong Kong resident) earlier took the chartered flight arranged by the HKSAR Government from Lima to London, followed by an ordinary connecting flight to Hong Kong and arrived this afternoon.

     Among the Hong Kong residents who sought assistance, one of them passed away in Peru earlier from COVID-19 infection and 13 have left there already through other arrangements. The remaining ones have not taken the chartered flights to leave Peru on personal preference or because they are subject to quarantine.

     Currently at least four Hong Kong residents are required to stay in Peru for quarantine and undergo COVID-19 testing. The HKSAR Government will continue to follow up with the OCMFA and the Chinese Embassy in Peru to provide practicable and appropriate assistance to the affected Hong Kong residents.    

     The cost for taking the chartered flight from Lima to Hong Kong via London is around HK$30,000; and that from Cusco to Lima is around HK$5,600. For the sake of mutual co-operation and benefit, the HKSAR Government has accepted the requests for assistance from other governments for allowing their residents to take the remaining seats of the chartered flights. Four Malaysian residents took the chartered flight from Cusco to Lima while six Malaysian residents and three British residents took the chartered flight from Lima to London. They have arranged the following itinerary by themselves after arriving London. These nine foreign residents have to pay the same amount for taking the chartered flights. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:      Pok Oi Hospital (POH) spokesperson made the following update today (April 5) regarding a suspected hospital acquired case of COVID-19 announced yesterday:  &… read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:      From March 20 to 8pm today (April 5), 977 and 209 people have been referred to the test centres at the AsiaWorld-Expo and North Lantau Hospital respectively for CO… read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health announced that as of 4pm today (April 5), the CHP is investigating 28 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, taking the number of cases to 891 in Hong Kong so far (comprising 890 confirmed cases and one probable case).
 
     The newly reported cases announced today involve 17 males and 11 females aged between 16 and 64. Among them, 25 had travel history during the incubation period and 13 are overseas students. The CHP’s epidemiological investigations and relevant contact tracing on the confirmed cases are ongoing. For case details and contact tracing information, please see the Annex.
  
     The CHP urged members of the public to maintain an appropriate social distance with other people as far as possible in their daily lives. In particular, they should go out less and avoid social activities such as meal gatherings or other gatherings to reduce the chance of contacting infected persons, who may not present any symptoms, and minimise the risk of outbreak clusters emerging in the community.
        
     A spokesman for the CHP said, “In view of the proliferation of the disease and continuous increase in the number of cases reported around the world, members of the public are strongly urged to avoid all non-essential travel outside Hong Kong.
  
     “The CHP also strongly urges the public to maintain at all times strict personal and environmental hygiene, which is key to personal protection against infection and prevention of the spread of the disease in the community. On a personal level, members of the public should wear a surgical mask when having respiratory symptoms, taking public transport or staying in crowded places. They should also perform hand hygiene frequently, especially before touching the mouth, nose or eyes.
  
     “As for household environmental hygiene, members of the public are advised to maintain drainage pipes properly, regularly pour water into drain outlets (U-traps) and cover all floor drain outlets when they are not in use. After using the toilet, they should put the toilet lid down before flushing to avoid spreading germs,”
  
     The CHP will report the cases to the World Health Organization, the National Health Commission, the Health Commission of Guangdong Province, relevant health authorities and the Hospital Authority.
  
     The CHP has set up hotlines (2125 1111 and 2125 1122), which operate from 8am to midnight daily, for public enquiries. As at 4pm today, a total of 82 665 calls were received.
  
     Moreover, the Government has launched the website “COVID-19 Thematic Website” (www.coronavirus.gov.hk) for announcing the latest updates on various news on COVID-19 infection and health advice to help the public understand the latest updates.
  
     To prevent pneumonia and respiratory tract infection, members of the public should always maintain good personal and environmental hygiene. They are advised to:

• Wear a surgical mask when taking public transport or staying in crowded places. It is important to wear a mask properly, including hand hygiene before wearing and after removing a mask;
• Perform hand hygiene frequently, especially before touching the mouth, nose or eyes, after touching public installations such as handrails or door knobs, or when hands are contaminated by respiratory secretions after coughing or sneezing;
• Maintain drainage pipes properly and regularly (about once a week) pour about half a litre of water into each drain outlet (U-traps) to ensure environmental hygiene;
• Cover all floor drain outlets when they are not in use;
• After using the toilet, put the toilet lid down before flushing to avoid spreading germs;
• Wash hands with liquid soap and water, and rub for at least 20 seconds. Then rinse with water and dry with a disposable paper towel. If hand washing facilities are not available, or when hands are not visibly soiled, performing hand hygiene with 70 to 80 per cent alcohol-based handrub is an effective alternative;
• Cover your mouth and nose with tissue paper when sneezing or coughing. Dispose of soiled tissues into a lidded rubbish bin, then wash hands thoroughly; and
• When having respiratory symptoms, wear a surgical mask, refrain from work or attending class at school, avoid going to crowded places and seek medical advice promptly. read more