Thousands of Hong Kong citizens have already made the sometimes painful decision to flee the city and move to Britain since Beijing imposed a strict national security law in its hometown last summer. Their number is expected to increase to hundreds of thousands.
Some are leaving because they fear punishment for supporting the pro-democracy protests that swept the former British colony in 2019. Others say the invasion of mainland China in their way of life and civil liberties has become unbearable, and they want to look for a future best for your children abroad. Most say they never plan to return.
Changes are expected to accelerate now that 5 million Hong Kong residents can apply for visas to Britain, allowing them to live, work and study there and eventually apply to become British citizens. British National Overseas visa applications officially opened on Sunday, although many have already arrived on British soil to begin with.
The British government said that some 7,000 people with British national passports abroad – a travel document that Hong Kong residents could apply for before the city was returned to China in 1997 – have arrived since July on the previously allowed six-month visa . She estimates that more than 300,000 people will accept the offer of extended residence rights over the next five years.
“Before the announcement of the BNO visa in July, we didn’t have many questions about immigration in the UK, perhaps less than 10 per month,” said Andrew Lo, founder of Anlex Immigration Consultants in Hong Kong. “Now we get about 10 to 15 calls a day asking about it.”
Mike, a photojournalist who asked for only his first name to be released for fear of official reprisals, said he plans to apply for a visa and move to Leeds in northern England with his wife and daughter in April.
His motivation to leave Hong Kong came after the city’s political situation deteriorated after anti-government protests and he realized that the city’s police force was not politically neutral. The police have been criticized by advocates of democracy for brutality and the use of excessive force.
Mike said moving to Britain was important because he believed that the educational system in Hong Kong would be affected by the political situation and that it would be better for his daughter to study in the UK
Lo said that with the new visa, the barrier to entry to Britain has become extremely low, with no language or educational qualifications required. British National Overseas passport holders need only prove that they have enough money to support themselves for six months and that they are free from tuberculosis, according to the British government.
Lo currently assists three to four families a week in moving to the UK. About 60% of them are families with young children and the rest are young couples or young professionals.
Cindy, a businesswoman who also asked to be identified by first name only, arrived in London last week.
In Hong Kong, the mother of two young children had a comfortable lifestyle. She owned several properties with her husband and the business she ran was doing well. But she decided to leave everything behind because she felt that the freedoms and freedoms of the city were eroding and she wanted to guarantee a good future for her children.
She said it is important to act quickly because she fears that Beijing will move soon to contain the exodus.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this week that the visa offer shows that Britain is honoring its “deep history ties” with Hong Kong, which was handed over to China in 1997 on the understanding that the Beijing government would maintain the city’s democratic freedoms and much of its political autonomy for 50 years.
Beijing said on Friday that it would no longer recognize the British national passport abroad as a travel document or form of identification and criticized the offer of British citizenship as a measure that “seriously infringed” China’s sovereignty. It was not clear what effect the ad would have, because many Hong Kong citizens carry several passports.
Beijing dramatically toughened its position in Hong Kong after the 2019 protests turned violent and plunged the city into a crisis of months. Since the security law was enacted last summer, dozens of pro-democracy activists have been arrested and young movement leaders have been arrested or fled abroad.
As the new law broadly defines acts of subversion, secession, foreign collusion and terrorism, many in Hong Kong fear that expressing any form of political opposition – even posting messages on social media – could get them into trouble.
“This is a really unique wave of emigration – some people have not had time to actually visit the country they are moving to. Many have no experience of living abroad, ”said Miriam Lo, who runs Excelsior UK, a relocation agency. “And because of the pandemic, they were unable to even come to see a house before deciding to buy it.”