Smart ID cards and thumbprint scanners allowing travellers to pass through border checkpoints without even having to speak to immigration officers could be introduced in 2004.
The automated process will rely on the new cards - containing a microchip bearing an individual's details, photograph and fingerprints - which have been scheduled for introduction in 2003.
Under the new system, passengers will swipe their cards through a machine and press their thumbs on a scanner to confirm their identity.
Assistant Director of Immigration Chow Kwok-cheun said the scheme, to be introduced in the second half of 2004, could greatly increase efficiency and reduce staffing.
He declined to disclose the budget needed for both systems, saying it was too early to give an accurate estimate. The state-of-the-art turnstiles would mainly be deployed at Lowu, the airport and ferry terminals.
Mr Chow said automation was especially needed at the busy Lowu checkpoint now that the Lok Ma Chau rail line project - designed to relieve pressure at Lowu - had been forced back to the drawing board on environmental grounds. The KCRC lost an appeal last month against the Environmental Protection Department's veto of the project.