Government warned it risks abandoning 'historic duty' to Hong Kongers

Dozens of Labour MPs person called connected the authorities to guarantee changes to imperishable residency requirements bash not propulsion enactment for Hong Kongers and others connected humanitarian visas.

The 34 MPs accidental they person "significant concerns astir the imaginable adverse consequences" of changes announced successful November to indefinite permission to stay (IRL), which allows migrants to live, enactment and survey permanently successful the UK, past get British citizenship.

They person written to migration curate Mike Tapp to inquire him to guarantee caller requirements are not applied retroactively to astir 200,000 Hong Kongers who were granted British National Overseas (BNO) visas from 2021 by the erstwhile Conservative authorities aft fleeing a crackdown by Beijing.

Of peculiar interest is the recently announced request for "upper intermediate" (B2) level of English, accrued from "intermediate" (B1), and the necessity to person earned much than £12,570 a twelvemonth for a minimum of 3 to 5 years earlier being capable to use for IRL.

The earliest Hong Kongers who came to the UK connected a BNO visa volition go eligible to use for IRL from March 2026, with the MPs fearing they could beryllium prevented from earning settled presumption aft already waiting 5 years.

They said they are faced with the "prospect of an alarming script wherever a large fig of BNO visa holders are locked retired of attaining ILR aft 5 years successful the UK, arsenic was promised to them erstwhile they repatriated to the UK".

"Returning to Hong Kong is not an enactment for them," the MPs warned.

They said pensioners, disabled people, young adults, those astatine assemblage and homemakers volition each neglect to conscionable the minimum wage requirements, which would mean they could beryllium denied IRL.

The MPs said the Home Office should recognise different contributions, specified arsenic volunteering, caring responsibilities oregon being a cardinal worker, and should proceed to recognise a grade taught successful English astatine a UK assemblage arsenic gathering the proficiency successful English.

'Historic duty'

Senior Labour MP Sarah Champion, a signatory, told Sky News: "I person BNO constituents who are present hugely anxious astir their migration status.

"The disorder implicit who is/isn't eligible to stay with the government's caller migration argumentation is severely impacting their intelligence health.

"The UK has a historical work to Hong Kong, it was close the past authorities created the BNO scheme; we present request to marque wide that radical from Hong Kong are inactive invited to remain."

Research conducted by Labour MP James Naish, who has conscionable nether 3,000 BNO holders successful his Rushcliffe constituency and organised the letter, recovered if the caller English request was rolled retired rigidly, lone 8% of BNO visa households would beryllium capable to afloat entree ILR aft 5 years successful the UK.

His research, a survey of 6,667 BNO holders, recovered a further 43% of BNO households would person nary members of their household eligible.

The MPs besides said Hong Kong pensioners successful the UK person near down HK$3.8bn (about £360m) successful Hong Kong's authorities pension system, which they tin lone entree erstwhile they person settled status, and with galore having planned for 5 years this could origin them fiscal difficulties.

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In their letter, the MPs besides said each different humanitarian visa routes should beryllium exempt from the changes, arsenic different it would "undermine the humanitarian intent" of the schemes.

Mr Naish told Sky News: "The BNO visa was created with cross-party enactment to connection a harmless way for Hong Kongers pursuing the crackdown connected civilian liberties successful Hong Kong. Many families made life-changing decisions based connected the wide committedness of a way to colony aft 5 years.

"It's indispensable that the tiny people of the government's proposals connected earned colony reflects the government's header enactment for the BNO visa scheme."

The Committee for Freedom successful Hong Kong Foundation said: "The UK indispensable honour its obligations nether the Sino-British Joint Declaration and support Hong Kongers seeking state here."