Shenzhen has begun dealing more strictly with illegal immigrants, as a growing number of foreigners, including some without legal documentation, come to the city to seek their fortune.

The municipal public security bureau will soon launch a large-scale operation against illegal immigrants, a police source said Wednesday, without elaborating.

The municipal public security bureau held a meeting last week to plan the operation. The operation, headed by the vice director general of the public security bureau Wang Jianping, will target people who illegally enter China, overstay their visas, or work without an employment permit.

The Shenzhen border police has apprehended about 400 foreigners with expired or fake documents in the past two months. In one case, a Pakistani man was caught with a fake English passport at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport.

Yin Xiao, a border police officer, said they had examined the documents of foreigners more closely in the past two months following an order from the Ministry of Public Security.

"With the rapid economic development in Shenzhen, some foreigners are now staying or working illegally in Shenzhen, which, to some extent, influences the social order," said Yin.

Shenzhen checkpoints are considering refusing entry to foreigners who have overstayed for over two months.

"We saw few expired visas in the past, but in recent years, the number of expired visas is increasing. So we are intensifying the inspection," he said.

Few foreigners overstay for more than one month, which shows that "they do not maliciously overstay," according to Yin.

Illegally entering China incurs a fine between 1,000 yuan (US$125) and 10,000 yuan, or detention for three to 10 days. Overstaying the visa period will result in a penalty of 500 yuan per day, with a ceiling of 5,000 yuan, or detention for three to 10 days.

Working without a legal work permit will get the violator fired and fined up to 1,000 yuan. Serious offenders will be deported, and the employer fined between 5,000 yuan and 50,000 yuan, plus the cost of deportation, according to the law.

Some regulations regarding foreigners are not taken seriously, however. For example, foreigners planning to reside in China are required to report to the local police station within 24 hours of arrival, or have their hosts do so for them, but few foreigners know the rule.

Police recently caught 15 foreigners who had not registered their residence. Violation of the rule may result in a fine of up to 500 yuan for both the foreigner and the host. Over 3.4 million foreigners entered Shenzhen through checkpoints in Shenzhen last year, up 17 percent last year. Some 13,000 foreigners live here, accounting for nearly half the province's total, according to official statistics.

The police bureau will assign two policemen at each station to serve foreigners, said Wang Deming, director of the entry and exit management department of the municipal public security bureau, in a news conference held in March.

(Shenzhen Daily July 6, 2006)