UK opens special visa route for HK residents to become citizens

Those with British National (Overseas) passport can take this route; Beijing warns it is prepared to take 'further measures'

HONG KONG • A new visa scheme offering millions of Hong Kongers a pathway to British citizenship went live yesterday as the city's former colonial ruler opened its doors to those wanting to escape China's crackdown on dissent.

From yesterday afternoon, anyone with a British National (Overseas) passport and their dependants will be able to apply online for a visa allowing them to live and work in Britain. 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 would maintain key liberties and autonomy for 50 years.

"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," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week.

China has reacted with fury to the visa offer, announcing that the British National (Overseas) passports would no longer be recognised as a legitimate travel or identity document. The move was largely symbolic as Hong Kongers tend to use their own passports or identification cards to leave the city.

Beijing said it was prepared to take "further measures", raising fears that the authorities might try to stop Hong Kongers from leaving for Britain.

In a commentary yesterday, China's state-run Xinhua news agency accused Britain of having a "colonial mentality", warning that the visa scheme would damage "bilateral ties and further hurt Britain's own long-term interests".

It is not clear how many Hong Kongers will take up the offer, especially as the Covid-19 pandemic restricts international flights and mires much of the world, including Britain, in a painful economic malaise. But the visa offer is available to about 70 per cent of Hong Kong's 7.5 million population.

Applications for the British National (Overseas) passports have surged more than 300 per cent since the national security law was passed last June, with 733,000 registered holders as at the middle of last month.

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 (S$5.3 billion).

The British National (Overseas) passport is a legacy of Hong Kong's return to China. Many Hong Kongers at the time wanted Britain to grant them full citizenship but China was opposed to the move.

The passport 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.

Stella, a former marketing professional, plans to move to Britain with her husband and three-year-old son. "The national security law in 2020 gave us one last kick because the provisions are basically criminalising free speech," she said, declining to give her surname.

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

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

Some Hong Kongers began leaving the city even before the new scheme went live. Earlier last week, Britain said around 7,000 people moved over in the last six months under the Leave Outside the Rules scheme. They can also apply for the pathway-to-citizenship visas.

"The BNO is definitely a lifeboat for Hong Kongers," said Mike, a medical scientist who recently relocated with his family to the city of Manchester. He said many Hong Kongers feared China might stop residents leaving the territory.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 01, 2021, with the headline UK opens special visa route for HK residents to become citizens. Subscribe