Govt urged to keep citizenship promise to Hong Kongers - after threat to double timeline

The authorities should honour its committedness to Hong Kongers to summation settled presumption aft 5 years - not a projected 10 years, MPs person urged.

People who fled Hong Kong for the UK connected the British National Overseas (BNO) humanitarian visa accidental they person been near successful limbo aft the migration achromatic paper past period said the qualifying play for indefinite permission to stay (settled status) would beryllium extended from 5 years to 10 years.

The authorities has said it is consulting connected whether Hong Kongers volition beryllium included successful that extension, but has not fixed a timeline for erstwhile it volition decide.

Hong Kongers person been capable to travel to the UK nether the BNO visa since 2021, with the committedness of gaining the close to enactment and unrecorded without immoderate limits (settled status) aft 5 years, past to use for British citizenship a twelvemonth later.

MPs with ample Hong Kong populations successful their constituencies are calling for the authorities to honour its archetypal promise.

They accidental changing it could undermine assurance successful the UK's migration strategy and that the state has a "duty" to invited those fleeing repression.

Read more: What are Sir Keir Starmer's caller migration rules?

Lord Patten, the past politician of Hong Kong and patron of run radical Hong Kong Watch, said "rewriting the presumption of the committedness would beryllium disastrous for the UK's legitimacy connected the satellite stage".

Hong Kongers person told Sky News they person had sleepless nights since the announcement, with galore acrophobic astir the government's committedness to them and the fiscal implications of having to wage planetary assemblage fees for their children due to the fact that of their status.

Govt is breaching relationship

Stella, 50, from Sutton, moved to the UK successful 2021 and her 2 sons are acceptable to spell to assemblage from adjacent year, erstwhile they should person settled presumption and wage location fees, but volition person to wage planetary fees for 5 years if the play is doubled.

She said: "This was a binding relationship, we uprooted everything successful Hong Kong, packing up our full beingness was not an casual thing, the taste and connection barriers, the UK system isn't bully - determination are galore challenges, but we've been truthful dedicated to integrating and planting our roots here.

"Now the authorities is trying to breach the archetypal relationship, it's made america consciousness precise uncertain.

"I hold connected strengthening the borderline but wherefore don't they ore connected amerciable immigrants? We lend financially and socially, BNO holders should not beryllium the people group."

Read more:
Let students who fled Hong Kong wage aforesaid assemblage fees arsenic Britons, impulse MPs

My son's fencing vocation is astatine risk

Kolman, 55, came to the UK successful 2022, and said extending the 5 years could beryllium the quality betwixt his lad being capable to vie for Team GB successful fencing oregon not.

"My lad is astatine uni present and was invited to articulation the nationalist squad but, due to the fact that of his presumption helium can't, but helium could successful a mates of years with settled status," helium said.

"If it gets extended to 10 years, helium whitethorn already beryllium successful the past section of his sporting life."

UK integrity volition beryllium aforesaid arsenic Hong Kong

Ivan, 50, from Sutton, came to the UK successful 2022 with his woman and 2 sons and said helium was anxious and his lad mightiness person to spell to assemblage successful Hong Kong due to the fact that of the planetary fees.

He said: "I americium disappointed. The crushed I came to the UK was the nonaccomplishment of integrity of the Hong Kong government, but if the settled presumption play is doubled with specified abbreviated notice, I deliberation the integrity of the UK authorities volition beryllium the aforesaid arsenic the Hong Kong government.

"The presumption were rather clear.

"My prime of slumber is truly atrocious precocious arsenic I'm truthful anxious, my full program volition beryllium destroyed, I've conscionable bought a location successful Sutton. My biggest interest is the assemblage fees and the NHS fee, which is simply a batch of money."

UK has work to Hong Kongers

James Naish, the Labour MP for Rushcliffe adjacent Nottingham, said the UK "has a work to invited those fleeing repression successful Hong Kong".

"To neglect to support the five-year pathway for BN(O) visa holders would perchance permanently harm the government's lasting with Hongkongers, hundreds of thousands of whom person placed their spot successful the UK and uprooted their lives to question a harmless haven successful Britain," helium added.

A captious lifeline

Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East, said the 5 years to settled presumption had "provided a captious lifeline to those fleeing repression" and said it "isn't fair" to alteration the clip play now.

"A 10-year hold for settled presumption would person immense applicable implications for radical who are anxious to rebuild their lives successful our country," she said.

"We indispensable honour the presumption that Hong Kongers, and different migrants, person arrived on."

Moral targets

Clive Jones, the Lib Dem MP for Wokingham, said: "This isn't astir migration targets, it's astir motivation targets.

"Changing the rules halfway done undermines assurance successful our migration system.

"We suffer our credibility if we neglect to support those we welcomed, and we summation thing by disrupting the lives of those already contributing."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong assemblage who person relocated to the UK and those who whitethorn travel present successful future.

"Further details of each measures announced successful the migration achromatic insubstantial volition beryllium acceptable retired successful owed course."