38,600 Hongkongers under 18 have applied for Britain’s special BN(O) visa scheme, but most requests come from residents in prime working years
- Nearly third of 142,000 Hongkongers who have applied to scheme that leads to UK citizenship are under 18, while those aged 25 to 54 make up majority
- Experts say age profile of applicants suggests city’s government needs to do more to retain local talent
Nearly a third of 142,000 Hongkongers who have applied for a special visa that leads to British citizenship are under 18, while those aged 25 to 54 make up the majority, official figures obtained by the Post show.
Experts said the age profile suggested the government needed to do more to retain home-grown talent, not just attract non-local professionals, referring to a raft of measures announced last month to make the city more enticing to mainland Chinese and expatriates.
Hongkongers aged 35 to 44 made up the next biggest group at 32,600, with 13 per cent of those applications made inside the country. The third-largest demographic consisted of those aged 45 to 54, who made 27,800 applications, of which 14 per cent were filed in Britain.
Hongkongers aged 25 to 54 made up 55 per cent – or 78,100 applications – of those applying for the special visa.
As of June, a total of 133,124 Hongkongers have been approved for the citizenship route since the scheme was launched, according to figures released by the Home Office in August.
An estimated 5.4 million of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents are eligible for the pathway, which allows successful applicants and their dependants to live, work, and study in Britain for up to five years, after which they can apply for citizenship.