No residency for newborns of non-locals in 2013: HK

Hong Kong (CNS) -- Hong Kong private hospitals will not receive any non-local gravida in 2013 whose husband is not a Hong Kong resident, announced Leung Chun-ying on Monday, who will chair the SAR Chief Executive as of July 1, 2012.

If any non-local parents-to-be give birth to their babies in Hong Kong in 2013, neither the government nor any Hong Kong agency is capable of assuring the newborns permanent residency status, Leung added.

The statement is based on the consideration that the city's maternity services, infant and mother care facilities and primary education resources are oversubscribed and must be restricted due to the heavy inflow of expectant parents with Hong Kong residency permits.

The local society is in agreement on two aspects of the issue: the phenomenon is in no way a positive opportunity for the local medical industry, and it promises no solution to the management of Hong Kong's aging population.

The first several months of 2012 have seen more than 200 gravidae every month entering Hong Kong from the mainland without bookings, revealed Chan Kwok-ki, Director of Immigration in Hong Kong. The immigration department rejected 1,900 cases of this kind in 2011, and the control measure has had some positive effect.

The Hong Kong government is likely to release a quota for mainland prospective mothers and raise the medical charges this month.