Hong Kong residents who can afford overseas homes flock to seek sanctuaries abroad as protests rage on at home

Applications for the Certificate of No Criminal Conviction from the Hong Kong police, a mandatory document for emigration, jumped 48.7 per cent between June and September from last year

Purchases of offshore homes, especially those tied with emigration incentives by Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Malta and Malaysia had been particularly popular, agents said

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Travellers and airline crew forced to get off their buses at the bridge connecting Tung Chung and Hong Kong International Airport on 1 September 2019, as protesters crippled airport services. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 7:00am, 23 Oct 2019Updated: 1:02pm, 23 Oct 2019

Purchases of offshore residential property by Hong Kong residents have jumped fourfold in the last five months, as the political crisis at home drove more city residents to seek safe haven abroad, according to real estate brokers.

Residential property purchases that are tied to emigration incentives, such as the so-called Golden Visa offered by Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Malta, as well as Malaysia’s “My Second Home” programme – which entitle property owners to be residents, have been on the rise, said John Hu, founder and principal consultant of John Hu Migration Consulting.

“Monthly new applications and [business] have increased by four times” from May, Hu said. “We received about 1,000 enquiries for visa applications every month” since Hong Kong’s anti-government protests began in June, he said. The protests were sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have enabled the transfer of fugitives to countries that the city does not currently have an agreement with, including mainland China.

The most popular destinations for Hongkongers are Australia, Canada and the United States, he said. More than 50 applications were received for Australia, while 30 were received for Ireland, Hu said.

The trend underscores how nearly five months of unprecedented street rallies in Hong Kong has altered the purchasing and investment pattern of the city’s residents, as the prices of new flats and lived-in homes had taken a beating.