Tory grandees table amendment to allow young Hong Kongers a pathway to citizenship
Former senior cabinet minister Damian Green MP has today tabled an amendment to the Nationality and Borders Bill which would give Hong Kongers with at least one British National (Overseas) (BNO) parent access to the Government’s visa scheme.
The amendment has cross-party support and is led by a group of senior Conservatives, including Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Tom Tugendhat, Chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, former Conservative Party leader, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and several former cabinet ministers including Liam Fox, David Davis, and David Jones. Senior figures from the Labour Party, including Select Committee Chairs Stephen Timms and Sarah Champion have supported the amendment, as well as Green Party leader Caroline Lucas and Liberal Democrat Foreign Policy Spokesperson Layla Moran.
If selected and passed in Parliament, the amendment would fix a gaping hole in the BNO visa, allowing the majority of 18–24-year-old Hong Kongers to access the UK’s lifeboat scheme.
Johnny Patterson, Policy Director of Hong Kong Watch, said: “The accelerated destruction of freedoms in Hong Kong in recent months has demonstrated why the visa scheme urgently needs to be expanded.
“As we feared, the national security law is now being used to target protestors who took part in the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
“I know many young people who were on the frontlines of the protests in Hong Kong and face harsh penalties that amount to persecution. But they have been excluded by the BNO scheme.
“The UK has rightly offered a refuge for BNO citizens. It is vital that the visa scheme is rationalised to ensure that young Hong Kongers are not excluded.”
This amendment, which is a standalone clause, would require the Secretary of State for the Home Department to make provision to allow Hong Kongers with one parent who has BNO status to register for the Government’s BNO visa scheme.
Currently, 18–24 year olds who are not dependents or household members of BNO status holders, are ineligible for the scheme. BNO status was offered to people who, before the 1997 Hong Kong handover, had British Dependent Territories Citizenship (BDTC) through a connection with Hong Kong.
The amendment would not be a breach of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration since it would not reopen BNO status registration, but merely recognise the direct familial link between a holder of a certain type of British nationality and their children.
Patterson continued: "As it stands, these young people are forced onto the margins of British society by seeking asylum or remaining in the UK on expired visitor or student visas. In the asylum system, they face an agonising wait for usually well over one year, unable to work during this time."
There are around 120 Hong Kong asylum seekers in the UK at the moment, and potentially 200-300 more people on temporary or expired visitor visas. Many of these have had trumped-up charges brought against them for their part in the 2019 pro-democracy protests. Others face being charged upon return to the city.
The amendment would allow the Hong Kong asylum seekers currently here to withdraw their asylum applications and apply for the BNO visa, and allow the 200-300 others to regularise their immigration status and begin integrating into UK society alongside their compatriots who have been able to access the scheme since January 31.
保守黨成員提出修正案，建議提供途徑讓年輕香港人獲得公民身份
前資深內閣部長Damian Green MP今天提交了一項關於《國籍和邊界法案》(Nationality and Borders Bill) 的修正案，該修正案將允許父母其中一方持有英國國民（海外）身份的香港人申請政府的簽證計劃。
該修正案獲得跨黨派支持，並由一群資深保守黨成員領導，包括外交事務特別委員會主席Tom Tugendhat，1922 委員會主席Sir Graham Brady，前保守黨黨魁Sir Iain Duncan Smith，前外交大臣Jeremy Hunt，以及幾位前內閣部長，包括Liam Fox， David Davis和David Jones。工黨的資深成員，包括特別委員會主席Stephen Timms和Sarah Champion，以及綠黨領袖Caroline Lucas和自由民主黨外交政策發言人Layla Moran都支持該修正案。
如果在議會中被選中並獲得通過，該修正案將填補 BNO 簽證計劃的一個漏洞，允許大多數 18-24 歲的香港人申請英國的救生艇計劃。
香港監察的政策總監Johnny Patterson表示︰「最近幾個月，香港的自由被加速破壞，這說明了為什麼有迫切的需要擴大簽證計劃。」
「正如我們擔心的那樣，國安法現在被用來針對曾參與 2019 年示威的示威者。」
「我認識很多站在香港示威前線的年輕人，他們面臨相當於迫害的嚴厲懲罰，但他們被排除在 BNO 計劃之外。
「英國正確地為 BNO 公民提供了避難所。簽證計劃必須合理化，以確保年輕的香港人不會被排除在外。」
該修正案是一項獨立條款，將要求內政部國務大臣訂明條款，允許父母其中一方持有 BNO 身份的香港人申請政府的 BNO 簽證計劃。
目前，不是 BNO 身份持有人的家屬或家庭成員的 18-24 歲的香港人不能申請BNO計劃。在 1997 年香港回歸前，因與香港有聯繫而擁有英國屬土公民身份 (British Dependent Territories Citizenship) 的人士可以申請BNO身份。
該修正案不會違反 1984 年的中英聯合聲明，因為它不會重新開放註冊BNO 身份，而只是承認持有特定類型的英國國籍的人士與其子女之間的直接家庭聯繫。
Johnny Patterson續指︰「目前，這些年輕人正尋求庇護或持逾期的訪客或學生簽證留在英國，被迫徘徊在英國社會的邊緣。在庇護系統中，他們面臨長達一年多的痛苦等待，在等待期間亦無法工作。
英國目前有大約 120 名尋求庇護的香港人，另外還可能有200至300 名持有臨時或逾期訪客簽證的香港人，其中許多人因參與 2019 年示威而被檢控，亦有人面臨在返港後被起訴的風險。
該修正案將允許目前正在英國尋求庇護的香港人撤回他們的庇護申請及申請BNO 簽證，並允許額外 200至300 人獲得正規的移民身份，開始與自1月31起申請BNO簽證計劃的香港人一起融入香港社會。