'Now is not the time to abandon Hong Kongers', Benedict Rogers
On the very day the Hong Kong government announced a further intensification of its draconian national security laws, the British government published its immigration White Paper, proposing sweeping new restrictions on legal migration.
The plan would double the waiting time to qualify for the pathway to settlement in the UK, from five years to ten years. Yet there is no mention of whether or not this would apply to the British National Overseas (BNO) visa scheme, established for Hong Kongers in 2020 in response to Beijing’s crackdown. If it does, it would deal a devastating blow to thousands of families who escaped repression in Hong Kong and have begun to build a new life here.
Under the current rules, the first BNO visa holders who arrived in the UK will be eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) next year. If BNO visa holders are not exempt from the new rules, the government will be reneging on promises made to Hong Kongers – at a time when the human rights crisis in Hong Kong continues to deteriorate.
The Hong Kong government is proposing to enable Beijing to exercise jurisdiction over national security cases, including allowing for prosecutions to take place in mainland China.
Not two weeks ago, police in Hong Kong arrested the father and brother of exiled Hong Kong activist Anna Kwok. Kwok is one of 19 overseas Hong Kongers facing a HK$1 million (£97,000) bounty and arrest warrant, and is regarded by Beijing as an “absconder”.
Almost a thousand political prisoners remain in jail in Hong Kong. 77-year-old British citizen Jimmy Lai has spent more than 1,595 days in prison and could die behind bars. Press freedom has been dismantled, academic freedom undermined and the rule of law eroded.
Now is not the time for the UK to back away from its promises to Hong Kongers. Extending the waiting time for ILR to ten years would pull the rug from under those who have sacrificed so much to build a new life here. It would leave them unprotected by British consulates when travelling abroad, unable to withdraw their retirement savings from Hong Kong, and ineligible for home fee status at UK universities, pricing many out of higher education.
On Tuesday, the last Governor of Hong Kong Lord Patten, Lord Alton and I wrote to the Home Secretary, urging her to rapidly clarify how the proposed changes will affect the 200,000 Hong Kongers in the UK, and uphold the UK’s commitment to them. Hong Kongers need reassurance that we still stand with them.
This article was published in LBC on 15 May 2025.