Number of non-refoulement claimants in school

Scott Edmunds made this Freedom of Information request to Immigration Department

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

The request was successful.

Dear Immigration Department,

Can you let me know how many children of non-refoulement claimants (AKA refugees, Form 8 holders, or however you classify those seeking asylum in Hong Kong) are eligible and currently attending school in Hong Kong?

Yours faithfully,

Scott Edmunds

Immigration Department

Our ref. : IL/00661794/18

Dear Mr Scott Edmunds,

Thank you for your email enquiry of 29 September 2018.

The matters raised in your email are receiving attention and we will
revert to you in due course.

(Mr CHEUNG Hang-kei)
for Director of Immigration

To learn more about the application requirements and procedures of the
most frequently used services provided by the Hong Kong Immigration
Department, you are welcome to visit the Easy Access Playlist at Hong Kong
Immigration Department [1]YouTube Channel. The concerned video clips have
Cantonese voice-over supplemented by Chinese or English subtitles.

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Immigration Department

Our ref. : IL/00672003/18

Dear Mr Scott Edmunds,

Thank you for your email enquiry of 29 September 2018 regarding the number
of non-refoulement claimants attending school in Hong Kong.

Under existing arrangements, children whose stay in Hong Kong is illegal
but are granted recognizance as an alternative to detention must apply to
the Education Bureau (EDB) if they wish to attend school in Hong Kong. 
The EDB will handle such applications in consultation with the Immigration
Department (ImmD).  The ImmD will provide comments to the EDB having
regard to all relevant circumstances of each individual case, including
whether the person concerned will be removed from Hong Kong within a short
period.  Having consulted the ImmD, the EDB will decide on the application
and make arrangements as appropriate.

As such, please be informed that the ImmD does not possess the requested
information.

Best Regards,

( Mr CHEUNG Hang-kei )
for Director of Immigration

To learn more about the application requirements and procedures of the
most frequently used services provided by the Hong Kong Immigration
Department, you are welcome to visit the Easy Access Playlist at Hong Kong
Immigration Department [1]YouTube Channel. The concerned video clips have
Cantonese voice-over supplemented by Chinese or English subtitles.

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Dear Immigration Department,

Thanks for getting back to me. Just to clarify, when you are saying you do not have this information, as the EDB consult with you for every case where children whose stay in Hong Kong is illegal but are granted recognizance as an alternative to detention want to go to school, do you have records of how many consultations a year they make with you? Of the roughly 10,000 recognizance cases you are currently handling you must also have information on how many of them are 18 and under, and therefore would potentially eligible. Can I get an age breakdown of your non-refoulement claimants, or at least a reason for why you are not collecting this extremely important data?

Yours faithfully,

Scott Edmunds

Immigration Department

Our ref. : IL/00707402/18

Dear Mr Scott Edmunds,

Thank you for your email enquiry of 21 October 2018.

The matters raised in your email are receiving attention and we will
revert to you in due course.

(Mr CHEUNG Hang-kei)
for Director of Immigration

To learn more about the application requirements and procedures of the
most frequently used services provided by the Hong Kong Immigration
Department, you are welcome to visit the Easy Access Playlist at Hong Kong
Immigration Department [1]YouTube Channel. The concerned video clips have
Cantonese voice-over supplemented by Chinese or English subtitles.

show quoted sections

Immigration Department

Our ref. : IL/00743781/18

Dear Mr Scott Edmunds,

We refer to your email enquiry of 21 October 2018 and our interim reply on
25 October 2018.  We are consulting with the parties concerned and we
shall revert to you soon.

Best regards,

(Mr CHEUNG Hang-kei)
for Director of Immigration

To learn more about the application requirements and procedures of the
most frequently used services provided by the Hong Kong Immigration
Department, you are welcome to visit the Easy Access Playlist at Hong Kong
Immigration Department [1]YouTube Channel. The concerned video clips have
Cantonese voice-over supplemented by Chinese or English subtitles.

show quoted sections

Immigration Department

Our ref. : IL/00768340/18

 Dear Mr Scott Edmunds,

Thank you for your email enquiry of 21 October 2018 regarding
non-refoulement claimants attending school in Hong Kong.  Further to our
holding reply dated 9 November 2018, your requested information is
appended below.

As at end September 2018, there were 888 minor non-refoulement claimants
(age 0 – 18) pending removal from Hong Kong upon final determination on
their non-refoulement claims (including claimants whose claim was pending
determination by ImmD, whose appeal was pending determination by TCAB, or
otherwise pending removal from Hong Kong).

For the number of schooling consultations the Immigration Department
received from the Education Bureau regarding non-ethnic Chinese
recognizance holders, please refer to the table below:

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Year |Number of schooling consultations from Education Bureau|
|----------------+-------------------------------------------------------|
| 2016 | 279 |
|----------------+-------------------------------------------------------|
| 2017 | 267 |
|----------------+-------------------------------------------------------|
| 2018 | 143 |
|(as at end Sep) | |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

For the procedures of the application for school in respect of the minor
non-refoulement claimants, you may refer to our previous reply dated 10
October 2018.

Best regards,
(Mr CHEUNG Hang-kei)
for Director of Immigration

To learn more about the application requirements and procedures of the
most frequently used services provided by the Hong Kong Immigration
Department, you are welcome to visit the Easy Access Playlist at Hong Kong
Immigration Department [1]YouTube Channel. The concerned video clips have
Cantonese voice-over supplemented by Chinese or English subtitles.

show quoted sections