Hong Kong’s older, single emigrants not letting age stand in way of new life in Britain

Sunny Chan* spent the Mid-Autumn Festival in a London park last month having dinner with a friend from Hong Kong. It was his 50-something friend’s first time in Britain, and Chan, 57, who had arrived earlier, was happy to share tips on settling down in a new country. The two men are among thousands who have emigrated since Britain opened a new route to citizenship for Hongkongers in the wake of Beijing’s imposition of a national security law in June last year. But unlike most others their age who have moved, they went alone, without spouses or children. There is a small number of middle-aged singles among the roughly 64,900 Hongkongers who applied for the British National (Overseas) visa scheme in the five months since it was introduced in January. Some 47,300 applicants have been approved so far. Chan, a bachelor, landed in London on July 31 with HK$50,000 (US$6,420) and moved into a 200 sq ft single bedroom for £500 (about HK$5,340) a month. Ten days after arriving, he found a full-time job in food packaging and began working 7½ hours a day, five days a week for the minimum wage, or about £1,400 a month. Chan told the Post his pay was more than enough, as he spent less than £200 a month. He has found London to be “much better than Hong Kong”. He said he earned HK$20,000 a month in Hong Kong working 60 hours a week in the travel industry, with no overtime pay. He also recalled being discriminated against because of his age when he looked for work. “In Hong Kong, if you’re 50 to 60 years old, you don’t have a lot of job opportunities,” he said. “If you are not afraid of starting afresh here [in Britain] and you want a life with quality, you can find it.” Other than the political mood in Hong Kong, Chan said he wanted a more peaceful life and disliked the city’s crowded streets where “everyone looks unhappy and is always looking down at their phones”. Popular London district welcomes Hong Kong migrants, soothes locals Chan said he hoped to find work on farms in Wales once he got his driving licence. “The air is fresh there. You eat well there, wake up and go to bed early, work from 6am to 2pm and after that, you can ride a bike, climb a mountain and cook some food,” he said. Simon Cheng Man-kit, founder of Hongkongers in Britain, which helps arrivals from the city settle into their new life, said there were only a few middle-aged singles among the 200 immigrants his group had helped. “I’ve mostly encountered two types of elderly singles,” he said. “Some are seeking retirement and have certain requirements for their quality of life, while others who are weaker in English need more help in that area.” Royal Docks’ home prices may outpace London for BN(O) emigrants He said 10 per cent of the 200 newcomers who joined his group’s English-language programme were aged 50 and above, but most had come with family. “It’s much better with the company of their family. They are taken care of financially and feel less lonely as they can look after their grandchildren at home,” he said. Those who arrived alone must make an extra effort to get to know and engage with the community, he added. Not easy going solo to a new country Maggie Tam quickly realised that being 55 and alone in a new country was not easy. Previously working in finance in Hong Kong, she arrived in Manchester on July 24 and pays £500 a month for a 100 sq ft bedroom in a two-storey house rented by a friend. Tam, who never married, left Hong Kong because of the changing political scene, and said she was not close to her family there. Used to living alone, she did not find it hard to adapt to life in Manchester and started attending a local church where most of the congregation was British. “I did not join any community groups formed by Hongkongers because I’m afraid that will bring back sad memories of Hong Kong,” she said. But she found it a struggle to make friends in church. “I was leaving the church one day when the pastor’s wife asked how I was doing,” she said. “As I was talking, tears just rolled down my cheeks. She then invited me to pray together and the loneliness I felt was relieved.” Tam is hoping to find a job as a clerk and build a social circle at work. But she must first obtain her National Insurance number, required by most employers, and brush up on her English. “I don’t mind working in fast food shops to improve my listening and speaking skills before looking for higher-skilled jobs,” she said. “I’m willing to learn new things.” As for the possibility of finding romance in her new country, Tam said she will “let nature take its course”. Hong Kong’s BN(O) emigrants unswayed by tax breaks, falling prices Singles meet online, make plans to go In Hong Kong, Willis Fu Yiu-wai, senior immigration consultant for Goldmax Associates, said most of his clients were families or couples and he had come across only two or three middle-aged singles planning to move. “As our consultation is free, most get the information they need from us and then handle the emigration themselves,” he said. “They are highly educated, including some with master degrees.” Gladys Chan*, 60 and never married, has already bought a 900 sq ft house in Manchester. Thinking about it made her feel anxious sometimes. “If I am alone at night and the heater, electricity, computers and Wi-fi break down, I will not know what to do,” she said. “I worry that I will be locked in my house or robbed at night.” She decided to leave Hong Kong because the introduction of the national security law reminded her of her childhood in mainland China, she said. Nine when she arrived in Hong Kong, she recalled the Cultural Revolution, when intellectuals, writers and artists were among those persecuted or killed between 1966 and 1976. A few months ago she joined a Facebook group for singles emigrating to Britain, and got to know five middle-aged Hongkongers also planning to leave. Hongkongers who left as children, returned for work, are emigrating again Now she is preparing to move with two women in their 60s and they will live together in her house. Chan has also begun attending home repair classes, and has learned to paint and fix a tap, among other things. Chan, who declined to speak about her job in Hong Kong, expects to find work as a Chinese-language tutor. There will be extra income from renting her flat in Hong Kong, too. Currently living in Sha Tin with her mother, who is in her 90s, she said her siblings would care for her mother when she left. “I’ve seen that those who have moved to Britain are always happily discussing their new lives,” she said. “They are always holding barbecue parties, which I really would like to join.” *Names changed at interviewees’ requests

Hong Kong’s older, single emigrants not letting age stand in way of new life in Britain

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Small number of solo emigrants cope with loneliness, uncertainty as they settle into new lives Some brush up on English to improve chances of landing jobs, others ready to retire in Britain

Small number of solo emigrants cope with loneliness, uncertainty as they settle into new lives

Some brush up on English to improve chances of landing jobs, others ready to retire in Britain