Applications for permanent residency in Hong Kong more than doubled in the four weeks after the government announced its controversial HK$6,000 handout plan.
The figure for March represented a 123 per cent increase on the number of applicants in February.
The huge rise in applications prompted officials to say they will be 'as lenient as possible'' when deciding on a cut-off date to qualify for the handout, announced on March 2 after a budget U-turn by Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah.
Official figures reveal that 9,291 people applied to the Immigration Department for permanent residency, more than double the 4,167 who did so in February.
Since January 2007, the average monthly figure has been 4,994. A figure for last month is not available.
Immigration officials have chosen not to link the increase to a dash for cash. But a spokesman for Tsang said a rise in applications had been expected. 'We thought there might be some increase so we have taken that into consideration.
'We are confident that the Immigration Department can cope with the expected increase in such applications,' the spokesman said.