Hong Kong raises with India 'abuse' of non-refoulement policy

Concerned over recent ads by some agencies claiming to make arrangements for Indians to come to Hong Kong under a fictitious "asylum visa", a delegation from that special administrative region has raised the matter with the External Affairs Ministry.
The matter was raised by a delegation, headed by the Assistant Director of Immigration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and comprising officers from the Immigration Department (ImmD) and Hong Kong Police of the HKSAR who were here recently.
"The delegation met with high-level officials of the Ministry of External Affairs to explain and highlight the legislative provisions in Hong Kong against illegal employment and human trafficking and the objectives of the unified Screening Mechanism for handling non-refoulement claims," a release from the Chinese embassy here said today.

The delegation also communicated with relevant Indian authorities on intelligence and liaison on law enforcement to tackle any possible acts in relation to "asylum visa".
"The HKSAR Government is very concerned with recent reports on intent advertisement that some agencies in India are suspected to be arranging Indian nationals to come to Hong Kong under a fictitious 'asylum visa', providing legal service to ensure that they enter successfully and lodge a non- refoulement claim for them afterwards, and, while they are pending screening, arranging unlawful employment for them.
"Apart from serious abuses to our non-refoulement screening mechanism, such 'services' exposed in the reports may also involve a number of serious criminal offences amounting to human trafficking," the release said.

It further said the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol have never applied to Hong Kong, and illegal immigrants seeking non-refoulement under the Unified Screening Mechanism in Hong Kong are not to be treated as "asylum seekers" or "refugees".
The HKSAR government reiterated that as per its Immigration Ordinance, illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order are prohibited from taking up any employment, whether paid of unpaid, or joining in any business.
"Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of HK dollars 50,000 (Hong Kong dollars) and up to two years' imprisonment. The Court of Appeal has issued a guidance ruling that a sentence of 15 months' imprisonment should be applied in such cases," the release added.