Hong Kong rejected more than 12,000 visitors from entering the city in the first five months of 2025, according to a top immigration official, who has said the move signals his department’s firm stance on border control.

Director of Immigration Benson Kwok Joon-fung also said on Sunday that the 12,452 rejected visitors represented about 0.062 per cent of the nearly 20 million inbound travellers recorded over the same period.

“There are a few reasons – for example, we might suspect their purpose for coming to Hong Kong is questionable, such as potentially coming to work illegally,” he told a radio programme.

In such cases, allowing them to enter the city risked affecting job opportunities for residents, he added.

“There are also some who do not hold proper travel documents, for instance, not having applied for a visa to come to Hong Kong … And then there are also cases where we suspect the travel documents are forged.”

Kwok also said his staff “occasionally” faced resistance from visitors who were denied entry, but stressed that his officers were trained to handle such situations.