About 300,000 people are expected to leave Hong Kong for Britain using a new visa route which opens on Sunday. Hong Kong’s British National (Overseas) passport holders and their immediate dependants will be able to apply for the visa using a smartphone app.
But the Chinese foreign ministry said it will no longer recognise the BNO passport as a travel document. It will not be accepted as proof of identity, China said, and they “reserve the right to take further measures”.The visa was announced in July after China imposed a new security law in Hong Kong, reports BBC.
Beijing has previously warned the UK not to meddle in domestic issues.Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the move honoured the UK’s “profound ties of history and friendship” with the ex-British colony. About 7,000 people from Hong Kong have already been allowed to settle in the UK since July, the Home Office said.
Those who apply and secure the visa will be able to apply for settlement after five years and then British citizenship after a further 12 months. Although there are 2.9 million citizens eligible to move to the UK, with a further estimated 2.3 million dependants, the government expects about 300,000 people to take up the offer in the first five years.
The 7,000 who have already arrived were allowed to settle before the scheme began by being granted Leave Outside the Rules, which gives the government discretion over immigration rules on compassionate grounds. Mr Johnson said: “I am immensely proud that we have brought in this new route for Hong Kong BNOs to live, work and make their home in our country.”In doing so we have honoured our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong, and we have stood up for freedom and autonomy – values both the UK and Hong Kong hold dear.”
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian called the scheme a violation of China’s sovereignty and gross interference in Hong Kong and China’s internal affairs, the country’s state-affiliated news website The Paper reported.”The British side disregarded the fact that Hong Kong returned to China 24 years ago,” he said.
China will no longer recognise the BNO passport from Sunday. It is not yet clear what this move will mean.Hong Kongers use their own Hong Kong passport or ID card to leave the city. To enter mainland China, they need to use their Home Return Permit, issued by Chinese immigration, unless they use a full foreign passport and apply for a visa to enter as a foreigner.The only time they might use a BNO is upon arrival into the UK, or another country that recognises the document.❐
