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Hong Kong national security law
ChinaDiplomacy

Does British backlash await Hong Kong national security law migrants?

  • Several think tanks in Britain have warned sudden influx of Hongkongers could put pressure on public services
  • Nearly 3 million people could qualify for pathway to citizenship

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A British government plan to extend residency rights to some Hong Kong residents could spark anti-immigration sentiment. Photo: Winson Wong
Holly Chik
The 3 million Hongkongers who have been offered a path to British citizenship following implementation of the city’s controversial national security law could put pressure on certain cities, leading to a public backlash, according to think tanks in Britain.

Although the number of Hong Kong residents likely to take up the offer is unknown, migration observers said a sharp and uneven influx of immigrants would translate into pressures on jobs, education, health care and housing systems.

There are about 350,000 holders of British National (Overseas) passports – the travel status created for Hongkongers born before the former colony’s return to Chinese rule in 1997 – and a further 2.6 million people who are eligible to apply. The British government has said it expects only a proportion of the 3 million eligible Hongkongers to move to Britain.

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UK offers Hongkongers with BN(O) passports path to citizenship after new national security law

UK offers Hongkongers with BN(O) passports path to citizenship after new national security law
Britain introduced new rules for the category in response to Beijing’s national security law for the city, which it described as a “clear and serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration”. China has warned of retaliation, saying the offer violates international law.
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A critical issue for Britain’s capacity to accommodate an influx of Hongkongers was the time period over which they might make the move, according to senior economist Andrew Aitken at the London-based National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

“Historically, most recently with steep increases in migrants coming from the European Union in the 2000s, the UK has not done a very good job at expanding infrastructure, schools, health facilities, etc to cope with increased population.”

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Aitken pointed out that “migrants, from any country, often tend to locate where other migrants from their country already are, [which means they are] not evenly spread across the country”.

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