U.K. BN(O) Visa Program For Hong Kong People Not As Easy As It Seems скачать в хорошем качестве

U.K. BN(O) Visa Program For Hong Kong People Not As Easy As It Seems

The U.K. has taken the lead in responding to China’s imposition of a National Security Law in Hong Kong by offering a path to British citizenship for eligible residents via the BN(O) visa program. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government expects hundreds of thousands to make the leap to safety and perhaps a new life using its British National (Overseas) visa, helping the economic recovery from the pandemic. While affluent Hong Kongers can make the move relatively easily — cash-rich buyers from Hong Kong snapped up almost one in 10 homes in London’s wealthiest areas last year — some of those who took part in the protests are falling through the cracks. About 200 young activists had already come to the U.K. from Hong Kong as of earlier this month, according to Krish Kandiah, the founder of UKHK, an organization that includes a network of hundreds of churches ready to help the arrivals. “Some of them are not eligible for the BN(O) visa or they can’t afford it,” said Kandiah. “It would be tragic if the route designed to help Hong Kongers fearful of political persecution is unable to benefit those who need it the most.” China says the National Security Law is aimed at punishing acts of secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities or collusion with foreign entities, and that it brings Hong Kong into alignment with the mainland. The U.K. says it broke the terms of an agreement when Britain handed the territory back to China in 1997, and in July last year, Johnson offered Hong Kongers a route to settlement in Britain. The longer term BN(O) visa was instituted as a bespoke path to citizenship, although other nations such as Australia and Canada have also offered safe haven for protesters and Secretary of State Antony Blinken has suggested the U.S. may do the same. However, many countries have shut their borders to prevent the spread of Covid-19, whereas London has remained open. Some of the arrivals may not be eligible for BN(O) visas, either because they were born after the 1997 handover, or can’t afford the cost: A visa to stay for five years amounts to some 3,370 pounds ($4,760) in fees and a health-care surcharge, while applicants must also show they have enough funds to house and feed themselves for six months. Some have arrived using the U.K.’s “Leave Outside the Immigration Rules” route, which grants immigration officers discretion to allow entry at the border for up to six months, but are now trapped with no job and no cash, reliant on hand-outs. The Home Office, which oversees immigration, has no official estimate of how many people are seeking asylum because they can’t access the BN(O) route. Even some six months after the BN(O) offer was made by Johnson, in London’s labyrinthine Whitehall where decisions are made, there was confusion over who was responsible for the welfare of the arrivals. No minister was given specific oversight of planning for their integration until recently, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing internal government matters. Multiple organizations helping the migrants privately expressed frustration with the lack of co-ordination and help from central and local government, with departments bouncing queries and responsibility off each other. In a sign of the shambolic planning, an official in one department suggested to the organizations that Cabinet Office minister Penny Mordaunt was responsible for the matter, when she was not, the people familiar said. She was surprised when the organizations wrote to her and had no idea where the suggestion had come from. Her office declined to comment when asked to respond. Kevin Foster, the U.K.’s immigration minister, said the government was “proud” of having established the BN(O) visa route. “Those not eligible can still apply under existing immigration routes to live, work or study in the U.K.,” he said in a statement. According to the pressure group Hong Kong Assistance and Resettlement Community, young protesters ineligible for the BN(O) visa are the most likely first wave of migrants bent on coming to the U.K. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube:    / bloomberg   Breaking News on YouTube:    / bloombergquicktakenews   Twitter:   / quicktake   Facebook:   / quicktake   Instagram:   / quicktake