The problem of illegal workers will continue despite the global financial meltdown, an immigration official said.
Assistant director for enforcement and litigation Eric Chan Kwok-ki said that illegal workers from South Asia were a problem in Hong Kong, but mainlanders comprised a large proportion of the illegal workforce.
The department seized 564 fake Hong Kong identity cards last year, up 33.9 per cent from 421 in 2007. Of the cards seized last year, 544 were smart identity cards. Mr Chan said most forged identity cards were not used to cross the border but to find jobs.
'The bogus identity cards were mostly used by mainland illegal workers to try to prove their identity to their employers and avoid detection by immigration officers,' he said.
Mr Chan said the seized cards did not have the same security features and officers could easily spot them as fakes.
But Mr Chan was more concerned about the rising number of South Asians working illegally, as seen from the increase in torture claims.