Immigration Ordinance

The Immigration Ordinance is Chapter 115 of Hong Kong's Ordinances. It regulates the immigration issues of Hong Kong, such as Right of Abode, immigration control and enforcement of illegal immigration by Immigration Department.

Immigration Ordinance
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Long title An Ordinance to consolidate and amend the law relating to immigration and deportation.
Citation	Cap. 115
Enacted by	Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Commenced	22 October 1971
Legislative history
Introduced by	Attorney General Denys Roberts
Introduced	9 July 1971
First reading	21 July 1971
Second reading	13 October 1971
Third reading	13 October 1971
Status: Current legislation

Introduced in 1971 (as Cap 55), it replaced a number of earlier ordinances that dealt with immigration control from China into Hong Kong:

• Passport Ordinance 1923
• Travellers' Restriction Ordinance 1915
• Registration of Persons Ordinance 1916 - amended 1935
• Immigration Control Ordinance 1940; 1949
• Deportation Ordinance 1917
• Immigration and Passport Ordinance 1934

The previous ordinances reflected the flow of immigration prior to establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 which resulted in a large movement of immigrants and illegal immigration from then onwards.[1]

This ordinance is often cited in controversial policies and the restrictive nature of immigration in Hong Kong, especially in regards to right of abode to non-Chinese immigrants[2] after amendments in 1987 to deal with post-handover Hong Kong.[3]