'In addition, if we have doubt on the character of the applicant concerned - whether he has a criminal record - we can always check with the relevant authorities,' he said yesterday.

Applicants must be aged 18 to 50, be able to support themselves and their dependants, have no criminal record, be proficient in Chinese or English and have a good educational background.

But they do not need to have found a job before coming to Hong Kong, as applicants under the current admission scheme must do.

Eligible applicants will be given a points score based on their suitability, and those who make the grade will be shortlisted for further comparison before places are awarded.

Successful applicants will be allowed an initial stay of one year and may be accompanied by children under 18 and by their spouse - who will be free to take up employment.

A one-year extension may be granted by the immigration director to those who have not found work, set up a business or taken other steps to settle after 12 months.

The scheme will have an initial annual quota of 1,000.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu tax partner Yvonne Law Shing Mo-han questioned the effectiveness of the scheme. 'An annual quota of 1,000 is not a lot and the scheme does not specify any targeted skills or sector.'

Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management president Lai Kam-tong welcomed the scheme but said Hong Kong should consider what sorts of talent it needs to attract in the long term.

Meanwhile, labour chief Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said the Labour Department received a record high 31,056 job vacancies in the first three weeks of this month.

However, nearly one in five job seekers aged 15 to 19 were out of work during the last quarter.

Mr Cheung, the permanent secretary for education and labour, is confident the situation will improve.

'The budget has mapped out a whole series of remedies to assist the jobless,' he said.