Why many Hongkongers in Britain on BN(O) scheme find themselves at career crossroads
- Challenge of finding work remains a deep concern among those who left Hong Kong for Britain under the British National (Overseas) visa scheme
- At a time when many would be planning their retirement if they had not left city, some face daunting challenge of starting over, often in entry-level positions
When Eric Wong left Hong Kong for Britain with his wife and their four-year-old daughter, one of his biggest worries was how he would provide for his family.
Fearing his English would not be good enough to beat out the competition in their new home in Sutton in south London, the 46-year-old took a gamble as so many other immigrants had before over the centuries and started his own business.
Wong had years of experience working as a wholesale supplier of tea at a traditional cafe, or cha chaan teng. Could Britons, the global arbiters of what constituted a good cup of tea, possibly embrace Hong Kong’s take on their national drink, one that relied heavily on milk and leaves sourced from Sri Lanka?
Although British colonialists had brought their tea-drinking habits to the trading outpost roughly 180 years ago, Wong saw his venture as a way to return the favour, while “adding the Hong Kong spirit”.
Wong and his wife met another Hong Kong couple who had already spent a decade in the country, and he proposed they join together in the new business. They would use their local connections to establish the distribution network, while he would manage the production. But the relationship soon soured and the business folded. Wong grew depressed and unsure about what to do next.