LettersWhy Hong Kong applicants to BN(O) visa scheme will not be ordinary refugees

Name: ‘Nothing is scarier than staying’: Hong Kong family uproots as fear looms over city’s future
Uploaded: 2021-02-14T06:05:08.000Z
Duration: 4 min 3 s
Description: ‘Nothing is scarier than staying’: Hong Kong family uproots as fear looms over city’s future

The profile of Hongkongers migrating to the UK and the British public’s overall impression of them indicate that they are likely to integrate well into British society

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Hundreds of Hongkongers march to the British Consulate in Admiralty, urging the UK government to grant full citizenship to British National (Overseas) passport holders, on September 1, 2019, as anti-government protests continued in Hong Kong. The UK government on January 31, 2021 rolled out a new BN(O) visa scheme offering a pathway to citizenship. Photo: Nora Tam

Letters

Published: 2:05pm, 14 Feb 2021Updated: 2:05pm, 14 Feb 2021

As of January 31, Hong Kong residents holding British National (Overseas) passports and their close family members are allowed to apply for a special visa that offers them a pathway to citizenship of the United Kingdom. Surveys have found that nearly half of British respondents harbour a positive attitude towards the new BN(O) policy, while around 20 per cent oppose it.

Although Britain has always advocated for human rights, when it comes to its national interests, it tends to be conservative, not showing too much support for refugees. The unemployment rate of refugees in the country was 18 per cent in 2019.

All this may worry those who intend to immigrate to the UK, who may fear that they will suffer discrimination from locals and not be able to integrate into the society (“First Hongkongers apply for BN(O) visas as Exco member slams policy”, February 1).

After the UK left the European Union, it started to tighten its immigration policy, prioritising those equipped with specific skills in key sectors required by the British economy.

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‘Nothing is scarier than staying’: Hong Kong family uproots as fear looms over city’s future

Unlike refugees who need to urgently flee from civil wars, Honkongers who decide to move to the UK make a carefully considered decision. Their numbers are still small, especially compared to the influx of refugees. Most of them come from the middle-class, have a higher level of education, specific skills, language proficiency and qualifications, and are perceived as industrious by the British public.

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The profile of Hongkongers migrating to the UK and the British public’s overall impression of them indicate that they are likely to integrate well into British society

The profile of Hongkongers migrating to the UK and the British public’s overall impression of them indicate that they are likely to integrate well into British society