Thousands of mainland mums-to-be turned away
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 25 September, 2014, 5:50am
UPDATED : Thursday, 25 September, 2014, 5:50am
Jennifer Ngo [email protected]
The Immigration Department turned away 3,532 mainland mothers-to-be in the first eight months of this year alone. Photo: Sam Tsang
Thousands of pregnant mainland women are continuing to try to enter Hong Kong apparently to give birth here despite clear guidelines barring them from the city.
The Immigration Department turned away 3,532 mainland mothers-to-be in the first eight months of this year alone.
A further 160 had to be rushed from the border to a public hospital for an emergency delivery, a Hospital Authority spokesman said. He warned that this "high risk behaviour" was putting both mother and baby at risk.
In the whole of 2013, when a total ban on pregnant mainlanders who are not married to Hong Kong men came into force, 5,077 mothers-to-be were denied entry.
In 2012, when only mainlanders without prior hospital bookings were banned from the city, some 4,202 pregnant women were denied entry.
Only those women married to Hongkongers are now able to book a Hong Kong hospital's delivery services, and proof of booking must be shown at the border by all non-local women who are 28 weeks pregnant or more to be let through.
"If unable to provide proof of a hospital booking or if there are any suspicions over the reason for crossing the border, the Immigration Department can deny a person entry and arrange for immediate repatriation," said a department spokesman.
The ban was brought in to curb the influx of mainland parents hoping to obtain residency rights for their children in Hong Kong.
The high demand led to complaints local mothers-to-be were finding it difficult to book beds, and there were concerns about the cost of the influx of mainland mothers, most notably in health care and education, with their children entitled to free schooling in the city.
Social issues were also arising as a result of mainland parents having children who were Hong Kong residents, who are denied a free education on the mainland.
The "zero-birth quota" is being extended into next year, with public hospitals continuing to ban all bookings for their maternity services from non-local women who are not married to Hongkongers.
In 2010, some 88,000 babies were born in Hong Kong, of whom about 32,000 were born to mainland parents with no residency rights.
