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More than 1,000 people granted residency rights under a talented migrant scheme have failed to show up.迷利倉 Secretary for Security Lai Tung- kwok told the Legislative Council yesterday that 2,646 applicants were given places from June 2006, when the scheme was launched, to November 30 last year. There were 2,432 selected under the General Points Test - taking in qualifications, language skills and working experience - and 214 under an achievement-based test. Most of them, 1,997, were mainlanders while most of the others were from North America and Europe. By November, however, only 1,600 had settled in the SAR. And Lai did not offer an explanation about the missing 1,046. According to the Security Bureau, the number of applicants under the scheme more than doubled from 587 in 2006 to 1,248 by August last year. Altogether, there were 9,932 applicants. Although the quota had also doubled from 83 in 2006 to 161 in August the percentage of successful applicants dipped from 14.1 percent to 12.9 percent. An advisory committee 迷你倉s now to consider the socioeconomic needs of Hong Kong and the mix of candidates and then make recommendations to the director of immigration on adjustments or changes to the scheme. Eddie Kwan King-hung, chairman of EK Immigration Consulting, said it is tough for applicants to be allocated a place even with a good score. He had a client success rate of less than 30 percent. As far as he knew, Kan added, most talented migrants were in finance and accounting, the law, and the hotel and tourism sectors. ``Only a few are involved in scientific research and engineering.'' Kwan also said that one reason why some applicants may not settle in Hong Kong is a difficulty in landing the right job or starting a business. ``It's hard for them to find a job, and the expenses in Hong Kong are high when compared with the mainland. ``For example, a person earning HK$500,000 a year might spend almost half of it on renting an apartment.'' Some people may also decide they don't like the lifestyle here. beatrice.siu@singtaonewscorp.com 自存倉