Announcing the scheme, under the 2011-12 budget, following a meeting with some legislators on Wednesday, Tsang, the finance secretary, said that people can choose to draw the full Hong Kong $ 6,000 through designated platforms depending on their needs. [break]
There are an estimated 20,000 Nepalis holding Hong Kong identity cards with around 15,000 having permanent residence identity cards. Only those who are born in Hong Kong or those who have been living legally in Hong Kong for at least seven years are eligible for permanent residence identity cards.
Even those Nepalis who are residing in the UK but have Hong Kong identity cards are entitled to the allowance. "Since Bill of Rights in Hong Kong allows every Permanent Hong Kong Resident to travel freely back and forth, All Nepalese holding Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card will be eligible for HK$6,000 no matter whether they are living in the UK or Nepal currently," said Ek Narayan Sharma, a Hong Kong-based Nepali lawyer.
The new measure will replace the original proposal in the budget that suggested injecting $6,000 into Mandatory Provident Fund accounts, according to news posted on the website of Hong Kong´s Information Service Department.
“This measure should be able to benefit most people in Hong Kong, including civil servants, housewives and retirees,” the news quoted Tsang as saying about the scheme.
For those who will not benefit from this new measure, he said, other arrangements will be made.
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