Many pregnant women on the Chinese mainland are traveling to Hong Kong to give birth, lured by the residential right endowed to their babies, Beijing Morning Post reported today.

According to Hong Kong's immigration department, infants will receive a Hong Kong identity if the parents can provide a birth certificate from a local hospital and their own valid identity certificates, no matter where they are issued, on the mainland or in Hong Kong.

One out of every three women who give birth in public hospitals in Hong Kong is from the mainland, said the local hospital authority.

Some underground agencies in Shenzhen, neighboring city of Hong Kong, are taking advantage of the regulation, arranging pregnant women to give birth in Hong Kong.

These women are usually approached by the agencies while they are visiting the city's maternal and child health hospitals for check-ups.

The woman will be charged tens of thousand of yuan for the service along with accommodation and traffic expenses during her stay in Hong Kong. She also has to pay the hospital bills there.

Besides Hong Kong's favorable welfare system and strong education system, a great number of women go there to give birth to their second or third child, which is illegal on the mainland, said a lawyer in Shenzhen.

China started its family planning policy in the early 1970s, to ease the out of control populace rate. Officials estimate the policy has prevented the births of about 400 million children.

The Hong Kong government is reconsidering the regulation to mend the loop-hole.