Non-refoulement claims in Hong Kong 2026: which office assesses and who litigates?

In Hong Kong, non-refoulement claims are assessed by the Immigration Department's Removal Assessment and Litigation Branch (遣送審理及訴訟部), headed by the Assistant Director (Removal Assessment and Litigation); the same branch holds the litigation work connected to those claims, and the Enforcement Branch (執法部) is expressly excluded from claimants and instead covers immigration prosecutions and the deportation or removal of everyone else, according to the Immigration Department's "Removal Assessment and Litigation Branch (Text Version)" and "Enforcement Branch (Text Version)" organisation chart pages, as of the October 2026 official pages.

Which office assesses a non-refoulement claim?

The Removal page places assessment with the Removal Assessment and Litigation Branch. Its listed duties are the handling of non-refoulement claim cases, reviewing and implementing the strategy for handling such claims, and formulating and implementing measures for the deportation and removal of unsubstantiated claimants. The post is held by Mr CHUI Ting-yat, IDSM, listed with contact number 2829 3837.

Beneath it sits the Removal Assessment and Litigation Division, overseen by a Principal Immigration Officer (Removal Assessment and Litigation) at 3156 1108. The division's described remit covers non-refoulement claim matters, litigation cases relating to non-refoulement claims and enforcement, and the execution of removal proceedings against unsubstantiated claimants.

Who litigates, and is it a separate office from the assessor?

No — litigation sits inside the same branch. Both the branch and the division are described as dealing with litigation cases relating to non-refoulement claims and enforcement. For an adviser, the practical point is that the office that decides the claim and the office that conducts the litigation arising from it are organisationally the same unit, under one Assistant Director.

The scope wording matters: the litigation described is litigation relating to non-refoulement claims and to enforcement. That phrasing means some enforcement-related litigation is also attributed to this branch, even though the substantive enforcement and prosecution work sits elsewhere.

So what does the Enforcement Branch actually do?

The Enforcement page assigns the Enforcement Branch, headed by Assistant Director (Enforcement) Mr SO Chun-ho at 2829 3839, four functions:

formulating and implementing policies on investigation and handling of immigration-related prosecution;
formulating and implementing measures for deportation and removal, expressly other than non-refoulement claimants;
managing the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre;
planning and formulating departmental counter-terrorism policy.

The Enforcement Division under it, under a Senior Principal Immigration Officer (Enforcement) at 2829 3800, supervises investigation and prosecution of immigration offences, deportation and removal other than non-refoulement claimants, and the operation of the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre. A separate Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Division handles counter-terrorism and intelligence measures and coordination.

How are removal and deportation split between the two branches?

The dividing line is claimant status, not the type of travel document or the reason for removal.

Function	Removal Assessment and Litigation Branch	Enforcement Branch
Non-refoulement claim assessment	Yes — handling of claim cases	Not listed
Litigation on claims and enforcement	Yes	Not listed
Removal/deportation of unsubstantiated claimants	Yes — measures and execution of removal proceedings	Excluded by wording
Removal/deportation of non-claimants	Not listed	Yes — measures and supervision
Investigation and prosecution of immigration offences	Not listed	Yes
Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre	Not listed	Yes — management and operation
Counter-terrorism policy	Not listed	Yes, plus a dedicated division

Read the table as a map of published responsibilities rather than as a case-routing instruction: a person's file can move between the two lines once a claim is finally determined to be unsubstantiated, and the pages do not describe the handover mechanics.

Where does the directorate sit above both branches?

The department's organisation chart places the Removal Assessment and Litigation Branch and the Enforcement Branch as parallel branches under the Director of Immigration, each led by its own Assistant Director. The Deputy Director (Enforcement, Systems and Management) post is described as overseeing non-refoulement claims and related litigation matters, alongside national security, internal security, law and order, personnel and resources management, and business process and IT projects.

That deputy-level oversight is useful context for escalation mapping, but it does not move assessment or litigation out of the branch: the branch page still assigns the case handling to the Removal Assessment and Litigation Branch and its division.

What should advisers take from this split?

Three points carry over into file management. First, claim assessment and claim-related litigation are one organisational line, so correspondence about a pending claim and about litigation flowing from it points to the same branch. Second, immigration prosecutions are a different line entirely — they belong to the Enforcement Branch, and conflating a prosecution matter with a claim matter misroutes the file. Third, removal is split by claimant status: unsubstantiated claimants on the Removal Assessment and Litigation side, and all other removals and deportations on the Enforcement side.

Assume a claimant whose claim has been determined unsubstantiated: on the published wording, the removal measures and the execution of removal proceedings sit with the Removal Assessment and Litigation Branch and its division. Assume instead a person removed without ever having made a claim: that removal is described under the Enforcement Branch. The pages do not set out how mixed cases, withdrawn claims or claims made after removal arrangements begin are allocated, so those situations need to be checked against the department's current published guidance rather than inferred from the chart.

The branch pages carry their own dates — the Removal page is dated 2 July 2025 and the Enforcement page 14 March 2025 — and the departmental organisation chart is dated 14 August 2026, so posts and contact numbers can change between updates. This mapping is general reference based on published organisation chart pages, not advice on any individual case; where a filing deadline, a court step or a removal decision turns on which office holds the file, confirm the position against the official pages or with a qualified practitioner.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which office decides a non-refoulement claim in Hong Kong?

The Removal Assessment and Litigation Branch handles non-refoulement claim cases, under the Assistant Director (Removal Assessment and Litigation). The subordinate Removal Assessment and Litigation Division manages the day-to-day claim matters. Both are described on the Immigration Department's organisation chart pages.

Does a separate unit handle court challenges after a claim fails?

The same branch covers litigation: both the branch and its division are described as dealing with litigation cases relating to non-refoulement claims and enforcement. The published chart does not assign claim-related litigation to any other branch.

Does the Enforcement Branch ever assess non-refoulement claims?

The Enforcement Branch's stated functions do not include claim assessment. Its deportation and removal function is expressly framed as being "other than non-refoulement claimants", which leaves claimant removal with the Removal Assessment and Litigation Branch.

Who removes someone whose claim is found unsubstantiated?

The Removal Assessment and Litigation Branch formulates and implements the deportation and removal measures for unsubstantiated claimants. Its division is additionally described as executing the removal proceedings against them.

What remains with the Enforcement Branch?

Investigation and prosecution of immigration offences, deportation and removal of people other than non-refoulement claimants, management and operation of the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre, and counter-terrorism policy and intelligence work.

Are the phone numbers on the organisation chart the right channel for filing a claim?

The pages list numbers against each post as contact details for that office, and say nothing about filing or intake. Treat them as post contacts only, and check the department's current published guidance for how and where a claim is actually lodged.

How current is this branch mapping?

The Removal page is dated 2 July 2025, the Enforcement page 14 March 2025, and the departmental organisation chart 14 August 2026, as of the October 2026 official pages. Post holders and numbers may have changed since, so verify against the latest official version before relying on a named office.