Number of children who with - a Freedom of Information request to Immigration Department (2024)

Valerie October 10, 2023

Dear Immigration Department,

I should be grateful if you could please confirm the number of minors under the age of 18 who have made non-refoulement claims under the Unified Screening Mechanism since 2014.

Please could you also confirm, in relation to those minors who have made non-refoulement claims under the USM:

1. The number of minors with a non-refoulement claim who are unaccompanied.

2. The number of minors with a non-refoulement claim who were born in Hong Kong and do not have the right to abode.

3. The average length of processing of a non-refoulement claim made under the USM (including all appeals until the final decision).
3.1. The average length of processing of a non-refoulement claim made under the USM by a minor under the age of 18 (including all appeals until the final decision).

4. The number of removals of USM claimants under the age of 18 since 2014.
4.1 The number of removals since 2014 of USM claimants under the age of 18 who had lived in Hong Kong for more than 7 years.

5. The number of USM claimants under the age of 18 who have parents of different nationalities.

6. The number of children that are Hong Kong permanent residents who have a parent that is a USM claimant.

Yours faithfully,
Valerie Ruecker

Immigration Department October 20, 2023

Our ref. : IL/00857357/23, L/M (120) in ImmD RALS1/6-20/3/C

Dear Valerie Ruecker,

We refer to your application for access to information of 10 October 2023.

Your application is now under processing. Our Department would revert to
you on or before 30 October 2023 according to paragraph 1.16 of the Code
on Access to Information.

Best regards,

(HO Chun-pong)
for Director of Immigration

To learn more about the services and activities of the Hong Kong
Immigration Department, you are welcome to visit the [1]'Hong Kong
Immigration Department' YouTube Channel.

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References

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Immigration Department October 20, 2023

Our ref. : IL/00858039/23

Subject: Freedom of Information request – Number of children who with

Our ref.: L/M (120) in ImmD RALS1/6-20/3/C

Dear Valerie Ruecker,

We refer to your application for access to information of 10 October 2023.

Your application is now under processing. Our Department would revert to
you on or before 30 October 2023 according to paragraph 1.16 of the Code
on Access to Information.

Best regards,

(HO Chun-pong)

for Director of Immigration

To learn more about the services and activities of the Hong Kong
Immigration Department, you are welcome to visit the [1]'Hong Kong
Immigration Department' YouTube Channel.

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

This e-mail message (together with any attachments) is for the designated
recipient only. It may contain information that is privileged for the
designated recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you are
hereby notified that any use, retention, disclosure, copying, printing,
forwarding or dissemination of the message is strictly prohibited. If you
have received the message in error, please erase all copies of the message
(including attachments) from your system and notify us immediately.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.youtube.com/c/immdgovhkchannel/

Immigration Department October 30, 2023

Our ref. : IL/00881520/23, L/M (120) in ImmD RALS1/6-20/3/C

Dear Valerie Ruecker,

We refer to your application for access to information of 10 October 2023.

We need more time to handle your application. Our Department would revert
to you on or before 29 November 2023 according to paragraph 1.18 of the
Code on Access to Information.

Best regards,

(HO Chun-pong)

for Director of Immigration

To learn more about the services and activities of the Hong Kong
Immigration Department, you are welcome to visit the [1]'Hong Kong
Immigration Department' YouTube Channel.

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

This e-mail message (together with any attachments) is for the designated
recipient only. It may contain information that is privileged for the
designated recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you are
hereby notified that any use, retention, disclosure, copying, printing,
forwarding or dissemination of the message is strictly prohibited. If you
have received the message in error, please erase all copies of the message
(including attachments) from your system and notify us immediately.

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

References

Visible links
1. http://www.youtube.com/c/immdgovhkchannel/

Immigration Department November 29, 2023

Our ref. : L/M (120) in ImmD RALS1/6-20/3/C

Dear Valerie Ruecker,

Thank you for your e-mail dated 10 October 2023 requesting information
relating to non-refoulement claimants in Hong Kong.

Further to our interim reply of 20 October and 30 October 2023, please be
informed that the Government implemented the Unified Screening Mechanism
(“USM”) in March 2014 to screen non-refoulement claims on all applicable
grounds in one go. Since the commencement of USM till the end of September
2023, there were 23 954 non-refoulement claims made, out of which 1 647
claimants were under the age of 18 and of them, 1 334 were born in Hong
Kong with the right of abode not established.

As regards the time for handling each non-refoulement claim, the
Immigration Department (“ImmD”) ensures that the screening procedures are
highly efficient and achieve high standards of fairness through flexible
staff deployment and optimised workflow. ImmD’s handling time for each
claim (from commencement of the screening procedures to determination by
ImmD) has been shortened from about 25 weeks on average at the early
implementation of the USM to the current average of about 10 weeks. As
for the time for handling appeals/petitions in Torture Claims Appeal Board
/ Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office, you may wish to contact them
directly.

Kindly note that the ImmD does not maintain further breakdown of
statistics as requested in your e-mail.

Best regards,

(HO Chun-pong)

for Director of Immigration

To learn more about the services and activities of the Hong Kong
Immigration Department, you are welcome to visit the [1]'Hong Kong
Immigration Department' YouTube Channel.

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

This e-mail message (together with any attachments) is for the designated
recipient only. It may contain information that is privileged for the
designated recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you are
hereby notified that any use, retention, disclosure, copying, printing,
forwarding or dissemination of the message is strictly prohibited. If you
have received the message in error, please erase all copies of the message
(including attachments) from your system and notify us immediately.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.youtube.com/c/immdgovhkchannel/