By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-12-12 14:06:55 | Updated at 2024-12-12 16:55:04
3 hours ago
Hong Kong residents will be able to apply for identity cards and passports via self-service kiosks from Friday, with the collection time shortened by two days to five – and applicants getting six chances to take their best photo.
The fully automated process was made possible after the law was amended in October, allowing eligible applicants to apply for the two documents at the kiosks without the need for an in-person interview with an immigration officer, a previous requirement.
According to the Immigration Department, each applicant using the kiosks to apply for an ID card will have six chances to take their photos, and registration officers will help if all these attempts fail. Applicants who apply for a card through the staffed counters are usually allowed to choose from one of the two photos taken.
Assistant Principal Immigration Officer Angelina Chow Pui-yuk said on Thursday that the department’s new Tseung Kwan O headquarters would update functions on 54 self-service kiosks and put them into use from Friday, with 44 for submissions and 10 for collections.
“The kiosks can now process applications for identity cards and passports altogether. The newly implemented kiosks will help the department to process 900 applications per day, and the processing time will be shortened from seven days to five days,” Chow said.
“The kiosks are eligible for a person who is applying for an identity card for the first time, a person who is applying for a replacement of a permanent identity card from a non-permanent one or a person who is requesting to replace an identity card due to a lost or damaged card. All applicants must be over 18 years old.”
