Nearly one-third of Hongkongers planning to settle in the UK under the British National (Overseas) visa scheme are retirees, homemakers or students, groups likely to be affected by a proposed income threshold for immigrants, a survey has shown.
It also found that 16 per cent of BN(O) visa holders who had only completed secondary school might struggle to meet the tougher English-language requirement, according to a survey by the London-based Sutton Hongkongers group.
The survey interviewed 690 Hongkongers on the BN(O) route across the country between October and November.
“We hope [the British government] will honour its commitments – trust is important,” said Richard Choi Ka-yuen, a city councillor in the London Borough of Sutton and founder of the community group.
“The BN(O) visa was offered as an invitation, based on the promises given back then. Now that Hongkongers have signed up and are already on the route, adding new conditions or amending the requirements is unfair.”
Choi said that if the government changed its policy now, people would begin to worry about the ‘5+1’ pathway.
“If I complete the five-year [qualifying period], will the government then change the rules for the one-year stage?” Choi asked, referring to the route that allows BN(O) visa holders to apply for British citizenship one year after obtaining settlement in the United Kingdom, following five years of residence.
Under the overhaul of the UK’s immigration system unveiled last week, the five-year route to settlement for the BN(O) pathway remains unchanged. However, applicants face a proposed annual earnings threshold of £12,570 (US$16,430), or about HK$128,000, for three to five years to qualify for settlement in the country.
They must also meet the B2 English proficiency level under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, up from the current B1.
The B2 level is said to be equivalent to A-level English, a score of 5.5 to 6.5 in the International English Language Testing System, or level 3 in Hong Kong’s Diploma of Secondary Education exam.
Releasing the survey’s findings on Monday, Choi urged the government to exempt existing BN(O) visa holders from the changes and to retain the current English and financial requirements.
The survey found that 19 per cent of respondents were homemakers, while retirees and students accounted for 8 and 3 per cent respectively. These economically inactive groups were deemed the most affected under the new rules.
Among the remaining respondents, 42 per cent held full-time jobs, while 20 per cent worked part-time.
The group called on the British government to grant exemptions to vulnerable groups who were initially admitted based on savings and self-sufficiency.
It stressed that retirees brought financial resources such as savings, pensions and assets to the country, and that their property purchases or rentals and spending generated tax revenue.
Homemakers, it added, were economically productive contributors, enabling their partners to participate in the labour market.
The group also expressed concern about the plan to measure financial requirements on an individual rather than a household basis, emphasising that the change could undermine the purpose of the BN(O) pathway, which was designed for families.
The survey also revealed that 16 per cent of respondents had only completed secondary education and would be affected by the tougher English test.
Another 9 per cent had college qualifications, 47 per cent held bachelor’s degrees and 29 per cent had postgraduate qualifications.
The stricter English-language requirement is among the mandatory stipulations not open to consultation. It remains unclear whether people aged 65 and above and those with degrees taught or researched in English will continue to be exempt from the test.
The group noted that BN(O) visa holders were well integrated into British society, highlighting their economic activity, high educational levels and digital skills.
A petition calling on the British government to allow all BN(O) visa holders to continue their settlement pathway under the original rules – particularly retaining the B1 English requirement with no income thresholds – received more than 28,000 signatures in two days and was submitted to the lawmakers, according to Choi.
He urged Hongkongers in the UK to take an active part in the public consultation.
As a member of the Liberal Democrats, Choi said he also helped push the party’s “Chinese, East and South East Asia” group to pass a motion calling on the government to exempt all existing BN(O) visa holders and their dependants from any new “earned settlement” rules.
He hoped Hongkongers would raise similar concerns within other political parties.
Several Hongkonger groups in the UK are planning to stage a rally in London on December 6, calling on the government to introduce a transitional period for any potential reforms, and to maintain the current immigration rules for BN(O) visa holders.
Britain launched the BN(O) migration pathway in January 2021 in response to the Beijing-imposed national security law. Nearly 225,000 such visas have been approved for Hongkongers, with more than 160,000 arrivals recorded as of September this year.
The UK government has forecast that about 195,000 BN(O) visa holders will settle in the country over the next five years.
The scheme forms part of a wider overhaul of the UK’s immigration system, under which the government has said it will prioritise migrants who contribute to the economy and played by the rules.
The Home Office said that, due to record-high levels of immigration under the previous government, 1.6 million migrants were set to become eligible for settlement by 2030. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
