The first batch of mainland professionals may arrive in Hong Kong as early as mid-July after SAR and Beijing immigration officials reached consensus yesterday on admission procedures. The SAR's Deputy Director of Immigration Lai Tung-kwok, who met the Deputy Director of the Exit and Entry Administration Bureau of the Public Security Ministry, Zhang Yindi, in Beijing yesterday, said the SAR could start accepting applications from mainland professionals in June. The admission scheme, announced in Financial Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's Budget last month, will first target the information technology and financial services sectors with no restrictions imposed on quota or the universities applicants graduate from. Mr Lai said his department would issue successful applicants with permits to enter Hong Kong within four weeks after receiving all necessary information. The mainland authorities would then take about 15 days to grant permission and visas. He said the first batch of mainland professionals could arrive as early as mid-July if everything went smoothly. Secretary for Security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee has estimated that the scheme will attract hundreds of applicants. To avoid the scheme being abused, Mr Lai said academic qualifications accreditation authorities in Hong Kong and the mainland had agreed to help verify applicants' educational backgrounds if necessary. Mainland professionals to be admitted under the scheme must possess skills and knowledge not readily available locally, and must be offered a pay package comparable to the prevailing market rate. Mr Lai said officers would conduct checks on companies and professionals to verify information submitted. 'Anyone who provides false or misleading information to the immigration officers could face a maximum 14 years' jail and a fine of $100,000,' he said. Under the scheme, firms needing mainland professionals can submit applications directly to the Immigration Department without having to apply through an employment agent as required under a similar scheme launched in 1994 but which failed in 1997 because of its complicated procedures and excessive restrictions. Mainland students studying in Hong Kong who have found jobs with local firms will have to return to the Public Security Bureau of their home towns to apply for permits and visas before they begin work in the SAR. Chinese public security authorities will publish a pamphlet listing the application requirements and fees, while the SAR Immigration Department will charge each applicant $135. Officials estimate vacancies in the information technology sector will rise from 4,000 in 1999 to 15,000 by 2005 while the financial services sector will see its staffing demand rise from 176,000 to 219,000 during the same period. Some labour groups have criticised the admission scheme as being too lax and have called for a more stringent vetting procedure and for a set quota.
