UK visa scheme offering Hong Kongers way out goes live today

HONG KONG – A new visa scheme offering millions of Hong Kongers a pathway to British citizenship will go live later today as the city’s former colonial master opens its doors to those wanting to escape China’s crackdown on dissent.

Starting this afternoon, anyone with a British National (Overseas), or BNO, passport and their dependents will be able to apply online for a visa allowing them to live and work in the United Kingdom. After five years, they can apply for citizenship.

The immigration scheme is a response to Beijing’s decision last year to impose a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong to snuff out huge and often violent democracy protests.

Britain has accused China of tearing up its promise ahead of Hong Kong’s 1997 handover that the financial hub will maintain key liberties and autonomy for 50 years. London argued that it has a moral duty to protect its former colonial subjects.

“We have honoured our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong, and we have stood up for freedom and autonomy,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the scheme this week.

China has reacted with fury to the visa offer. 

On Friday, it announced that BNO passports will no longer be recognised as a legitimate travel or identification document.

The move is largely symbolic, as Hong Kongers tend to use their own passports or ID cards to leave the city.

Beijing said it is prepared to take “further measures”, raising fears that authorities may try to stop Hong Kongers from leaving for Britain. 

Applications soar

It is not clear how many Hong Kongers will take up the offer, especially as the coronavirus restricts global flights and mires much of the world, including Britain, in a painful economic malaise.

However, a BNO passport is available to a huge number of people – about 70% of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million population.

Applications for these passports have skyrocketed more than 300% since the national security law was imposed last July, with 733,000 registered holders as of mid-January.

Britain predicts up to 154,000 Hong Kongers could arrive over the next year, and as many as 322,000 over five years, bringing an estimated “net benefit” of up to £2.9 billion (RM16 billion).

The BNO passport is a legacy of Hong Kong’s return to authoritarian China. 

Many Hong Kongers at the time wanted Britain to grant them full citizenship, but China opposed the move. 

The BNO was a compromise, allowing Hong Kongers born before 1997 the right to stay in Britain for six months at a time, but with no working or settling rights.

Now, it has become one of the few ways out for Hong Kongers hoping to start a new life overseas, as authorities conduct mass arrests against democracy supporters and move to purge the restless city of dissenting views.

Under the visa scheme, those hoping to move have to show they have enough funds to sustain themselves and their dependents for at least six months.

Hong Kongers already in Britain who are involved in helping others relocate said many of the early applicants tend to be educated middle-class people, often with young families, who have enough liquidity to finance their move.

“Most people we spoke with are families with primary school or nursery age kids,” Nic, an activist with a group called Lion Rock Hill UK, told AFP, asking for anonymity.

Some Hong Kongers have left the city even before the new scheme goes live. 

Earlier this week, Britain said around 7,000 people moved over the last six months under a separate Leave Outside the Rules system. They will also be able to apply for the pathway-to-citizenship visa. – AFP, January 31, 2021