Dear Mr. Pormarejo and Ms. Fajardo,
Thank you for your request under Code on Access to Information of 17 March
2022.  I am authorised to reply as follows:-
According to paragraph 7(a) of Schedule 1 to the Immigration Ordinance
(Cap. 115), a Hong Kong permanent resident (“HKPR”) who is not of Chinese
nationality will lose his/her HKPR status if he/she has been absent from
Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than 36 months since he/she
ceased to have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong.  Under the Immigration
Ordinance, the Director of Immigration is not given any discretion to
waive any person from compliance with the above-said legal provision in
respect of the 36-month period of absence from Hong Kong on grounds of
special or unforeseen circumstances (e.g. under the impact of the COVID-19
epidemic), nor is he given any power to extend the relevant time period to
beyond 36 months.
Regarding the above legal provision, there is no provision in the
Immigration Ordinance empowering the Director of Immigration, at his
discretion, to extend or enlarge the 36-month period of absence from Hong
Kong mentioned above or empowering him to waive compliance with the legal
provision about the 36-month period of absence from Hong Kong on grounds
of special or unforeseen circumstances (e.g. under the impact of the
COVID-19 epidemic).
On the other hand, section 2(6) of the Immigration Ordinance empowers the
Director of Immigration to determine whether the person concerned has
ceased to be ordinarily resident in Hong Kong or is only temporarily
absent from Hong Kong by taking into consideration all circumstances of
each case, including:

* the reason, duration and frequency of any absence from Hong Kong;
* whether he/she has habitual residence in Hong Kong;
* employment by a Hong Kong based company; and
* the whereabouts of the principal members of his/her family (spouse and
minor children).

A HKPR not of Chinese nationality who is absent from Hong Kong due to the
COVID-19 epidemic may make a representation about his/her individual
circumstances to the Immigration Department (“ImmD”).  The ImmD will take
into account all circumstances of the case in accordance with the above
legal provision to determine whether the person concerned has ceased to be
ordinarily resident in Hong Kong or is only temporarily absent from Hong
Kong.  If the ImmD is satisfied that the person concerned has not ceased
to be ordinarily resident in Hong Kong, the person concerned will not lose
his/her HKPR status.

Even if a HKPR who is not of Chinese nationality loses his/her HKPR
status, he/she still has the right to land in Hong Kong.  That is to say
he/she will be able to enter Hong Kong freely to live, study or work
without the need for prior application for a visa or an entry permit to
Hong Kong.  He/she is also not subject to any limit of stay in Hong Kong.

To conclude, whether or not a person still retains his/her HKPR status
shall be determined by the individual circumstances of that person.  The
ImmD will consider the circumstances of each case in accordance with the
relevant legal provisions.

I hope you find the above information useful.

Yours faithfully,
CHAN Cheung-fai
for Director of Immigration