Hong Kong deports 21 Vietnamese nationals including 20 illegal entrants
Hong Kong's Immigration Department on Thursday deported 20 Vietnamese illegal entrants and one overstayer back to Vietnam, as part of efforts to speed up removals of failed asylum seekers under a policy updated in December 2022.
The Hong Kong Immigration Department on 12 November deported 20 Vietnamese illegal entrants and one person who had overstayed their visa back to Vietnam, the government announced.
The department said it remains committed to repatriating people whose non-refoulement claims have been rejected as quickly as possible, in order to maintain effective immigration control and protect the public interest.
Under an updated removal policy that took effect on 7 December 2022, the Immigration Department can generally carry out deportations after a claimant's judicial review case has been rejected by the High Court's Court of First Instance, the statement said. The change was designed to improve the efficiency and scale of removals for people whose protection claims have been refused.
The department said it will continue to explore different options to speed up repatriations of failed asylum seekers, and will coordinate closely with relevant parties to optimise removal routes and operational procedures. It added that it is maintaining close contact with the governments of claimants' main countries of origin, airlines and other government departments, and will take all appropriate measures to remove rejected claimants from Hong Kong as soon as possible.
