Mainland Chinese migrants since 1997 now make up 10pc of Hong Kong population

About 760,000 mainlanders have settled in Hong Kong through the one-way permit scheme since the handover in 1997, making up more than one in 10 residents.

And there is no plan to stop or change the scheme, which allows 150 mainlanders a day to reunite with their families, since it is in line with mainland law, a top Security Bureau official says.

The issue of new arrivals was raised in the Legislative Council yesterday amid concerns about how government policy met their needs and whether a review of the system was in order.

About half of the migrants came to live with their spouses and half reunited with their parents, while a small number relocated to be with their children, acting secretary for security John Lee Ka-chiu told lawmakers.

"New arrivals on the strength of one-way permits are among the important sources of population growth in Hong Kong."

The Immigration and Home Affairs departments collected the statistics through records of new arrivals at the Lo Wu checkpoint and data from the Registration of Persons Offices, Lee said.

The information goes into a quarterly report that is sent to relevant departments. The Census and Statistics Department, for instance, would take new arrivals into account when making population estimates that in turn helped the government in its long-term planning for education, housing, transport, social services and health care, Lee said. "The administration will consider relevant issues when formulating population policy," he said.