The Immigration Department will launch new electronic services tomorrow for eligible applicants to complete the entire process of birth or death registrations online, without having to visit a registry in person. According to the Births & Deaths Registration (Amendment) Ordinance 2023, which will take effect tomorrow, the statutory time limit for the registration of deaths from natural causes is extended from 24 hours to 14 days. It also removes the requirement for applicants who need to register births or deaths to attend the registries in person, so as to provide a legal basis for the introduction of electronic services for these kinds of registration. Under the new electronic services, if either parent of a newborn baby is a Hong Kong permanent resident, the parents may submit an application for a birth registration online within 42 days after the birth of their legitimate child. They may apply for a birth certificate at the same time and choose to receive it by
Secretary for Labour & Welfare Dr Law Chi-kwong today visited Forward Living in Tuen Mun, the first purpose-built residential care home for the elderly under a scheme that encourages provision of such premises in new private developments.
The elderly care home started operation in June, providing 191 residential care places for seniors.
Accompanied by its management team, Dr Law first took a closer look at anti-epidemic measures in the elderly home which is equipped with an air monitoring system for regular testing of air quality.
He then received a briefing on the application of gerontechnology in the premises, including the smart Elderly Homes Management System linking various facilities for one-stop drug management and monitoring of residents’ health.
Other applications include the provision of nutritional soft meals for seniors with swallowing difficulties, the installation of rehabilitation and cognitive training equipment as well as care and antibacterial furniture.
Under the scheme, the relevant elderly home premises will be exempted from paying the premium under land transactions on the condition that the developers are willing to accept certain lease conditions to ensure the delivery of such premises.
The proposed projects must also be supported by the Social Welfare and relevant departments.
The land transaction involving Forward Living was made at the end of 2012.
Dr Law said the Government would continue to increase residential care places for the elderly by adopting a multipronged approach and maximising land use, as well as encouraging participation by more private enterprises in providing quality elderly home services.
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