A new visa scheme that gives millions of Hong Kong residents a path to British citizenship will take effect on Sunday as the UK opens its doors to those who want to escape China’s contradiction.
From Sunday afternoon, anyone with a UK passport (BNO) and their dependents can apply online for a visa that allows them to live and work in the UK. After five years, they can then apply for citizenship.
The immigration scheme is a response to Beijing’s decision last year to impose a comprehensive national security law on Hong Kong to wipe out large-scale and often violent democracy protests.
Britain accused China of breaking its promise before handing over Hong Kong in 1997 that the financial center would maintain the most important freedoms and autonomy for 50 years. London argued that it had a moral duty to protect its former colonial subjects.
“We have honored our deep 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 of the scheme this week.
China has reacted angrily to the visa offer and announced on Friday that BNO passports will no longer be recognized as a legal travel or ID document.
The move was largely symbolic because Hong Kongers tend to use their own passports or ID cards to leave the city.
But Beijing said it was prepared to take “further measures”, raising fears that authorities would try to stop Hong Kongers from leaving for Britain.
Cindy, who landed in London last week, is one of thousands of Hong Kongers who have fled their hometown since Beijing enacted a draconian national security law in the area last summer.
“Uprooting ourselves like that is definitely not easy. But things got uglier last year, the government really drove us out, ‘said the businesswoman and mother of two young children who did not give her last name because she feared consequences for speaking out against the Chinese government. “Everything we value – freedom of speech, fair elections, freedoms – is defense. It is no longer the Hong Kong we knew, it is no longer anywhere we can call home.
“The Chinese government has said it has not ruled out strict tactics,” she said. “I think they could start leaving very quietly when tens of thousands of young professionals leave, because that would certainly upset Hong Kong’s economy and they would not like it at all.”
It is not clear how many Hong Kongers will accept the offer, especially as the coronavirus restricts global flights and limits a large part of the world, including Britain, in a painful economic malaise.
A BNO passport is available to about 70% of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents and applications have skyrocketed more than 300% since the National Security Act was introduced last July, with 733,000 registered holders as of mid-January.
Britain predicts that up to 154,000 Hong Kongers would arrive during the next year and as many as 322,000 over five years.
Recently, the BNO passport has become one of the few way out for Hong Kongers hoping to start a new life abroad as authorities make mass arrests against pro-democracy activists and want to purge the restless city of divergent views.
Stella, a former professional marketer, plans to move to Britain immediately with her husband and three-year-old son.
“The National Security Act in 2020 gave us one last kick because the provisions basically criminalize freedom of speech,” she said.
According to the visa scheme, those hoping to withdraw must show that they have enough funds to support themselves and their dependents for at least six months.
Hong Kongers already involved in Britain 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 relocation.
“Most of the people we spoke to were families with children in primary or nursery school,” Nic, an activist from a group called Lion Rock Hill UK, asked for anonymity.
Earlier this week, Britain said about 7,000 people had moved under a separate off-the-shelf (LOTR) system during the past six months. They will also be able to apply for a visa for a trip to citizenship.
“The BNO is definitely a lifeboat for Hong Kongers,” said Mike, a medical scientist who recently moved with his family to the city of Manchester.
Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report.