MPs tackle barriers to citizenship for Hongkongers

BRITISH MPs are looking to close a loophole that denies young Hongkongers UK citizenship as exiles born after 1997 have spoken out about their uncertain status upon fleeing Beijing’s clampdown on free speech.

High school and university students spearheaded Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, but cannot automatically claim the right to live in the UK.

The British Government last year offered a pathway to citizenship for millions of Hong Kong residents who were born before the 1997 handover of the city to China and eligible for “British National Overseas” (BNO) status.

Their dependents were included, but people aged 18 to 24 do not qualify as they are now adults but born after 1997. A Conservative-led cross-party amendment to the Nationality and Borders Bill seeks to close that loophole and help those most in need of refuge by opening the BNO visa route to anyone with one parent with BNO status. A parliamentary vote is due in December.

“This is an important amendment to support those who are more likely to be targeted under Hong Kong’s national security law,” Tom Tugendhat, the Tory MP, said. “The BNO scheme lives up to our obligations to Hong Kong, and we need to make sure that all are included.”

Rainy, who asked for her name to be changed, fled her home at night last year after being told police were looking for her. “I said, ‘I don’t want to put anyone in danger’. They drove me to the airport and we cried in the carpark. Then I left on my own,” she said. Only 19 at the time, she joined scores of young Hongkongers heading to the UK to escape oppression linked to the 2019 pro-democracy movement, but is now caught up in the asylum process.