UK offers citizenship to HK residents after new Chinese law

LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday held China in “clear and serious breach of the Sino-British agreement” under which Hong Kong had been handed over to the Chinese authorities and confirmed that a citizenship route will now be offered to Hong Kong’s British National (Overseas) passport holders.

Addressing his weekly Pquestions in the House of Commons, Johnson said China’s new National Security Law is a threat to the rights and freedom of the region and in direct conflict with Hong Kong Basic Law.

“The enactment and the imposition of this National Security Law constitutes a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. It violates Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and is in direct conflict with Hong Kong Basic Law,” he told MPs in Parliament.

“The law also threatens the freedoms and rights protected by the Joint Declaration. We made clear that if China continued down this path, we would introduce a new route for those with British National (Overseas) status to enter the UK, granting them limited leave to remain with the ability to live and work in the UK and thereafter to apply for citizenship. And, that is precisely what we will do now,” he said.

The UK has committed to make it easier for the estimated 350,000 Hong Kong residents who are British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders to come to the UK, as well as nearly 2.6 million others who are eligible to BNO status.

The government has committed to make it easier for the estimated 350,000 residents to come to the UK