Details of ‘safe haven’ programme for Hongkongers in the US are released

Name: Exiled Hong Kong activist urges US Congress to pass bills supporting asylum seekers
Uploaded: 2021-10-20T19:42:18.000Z
Duration: 1 min 23 s
Description: Exiled Hong Kong activist urges US Congress to pass bills supporting asylum seekers

Eligibility will be extended to holders of both Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and British National (Overseas) passports

Those covered by the deferred removal plan will be eligible to work in the US and can also apply to leave and re-enter the country

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The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced specifics about a new programme for Hongkongers in the United States. Photo: Dreamstime/TNS

Owen Churchill

Published: 3:42am, 21 Oct 2021Updated: 7:39am, 21 Oct 2021

The United States provided details on Wednesday about its temporary “safe haven” programme that will allow Hongkongers to work in the country, soon after US lawmakers were told that those seeking protection were frustrated by their inability to gain information about the plan.

Announced by US President Joe Biden in August, the deferred removal programme exempts Hong Kong residents from having to leave the US should their visas expire because of possible political persecution upon their return to the city.

In a notice to be posted in the Federal Register on Thursday, US Citizenship and Immigration Services indicated that eligibility would be extended not only to holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports but also those with British National (Overseas) passports – nationality documents that were granted to some Hongkongers before the 1997 handover.

Also to be covered by the programme, known formally as “deferred enforced departure” (DED), are those holding a Hong Kong permanent identity card or Hong Kong document of identity for visa purposes, which allows residents without a passport to travel.

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Exiled Hong Kong activist urges US Congress to pass bills supporting asylum seekers

Wednesday’s notice was welcomed by pro-democracy campaigner Samuel Chu, who said he had communicated the need for a wide range of eligible people during discussions with White House and State Department officials in the months before August’s announcement.