About 2,000 to 3,000 mainlanders, including children, will be allowed to jump the queue for entry to the SAR by the end of the year.
The group comprises children with both parents in Hong Kong, and adults whose parents need to be looked after.
The numbers were revealed yesterday by the Guangdong Public Security Bureau following the rule change last week.
Up to 150 mainlanders are allowed to emigrate each day. In the past, wives of Hong Kong men and children with one parent from Hong Kong filled 138 of the 150 quota, leaving only 12 for people in other categories, according to the Immigration Department.
'We have sufficient spare quota to cater for the new groups of people,' a department spokesman said.
The Guangdong bureau said there would be about 30 to 60 places a day for the two new groups.