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The British Home Secretary said Hong Kongers convicted over the 2019 pro-democracy protests should not be barred from applying for visas to the UK if they meet other qualifications. This situation was welcomed by the Hong Kong watchdog.
The British Home Secretary said,hong kong People convicted of taking part in pro-democracy protests will not lose their ability to apply to live and work in the UKvisa Qualifications.
Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said the process should now be handled in applicants’ favor to ensure that convictions related to participation in the 2019 protests do not prevent otherwise eligible people from applying for visas, Agence France-Presse reported.
Pro-democracy protests broke out in Hong Kong in 2019, and the following year China imposed a sweeping national security law for Hong Kong. Britain has since issued more than 230,000 visas to Hong Kongers from the former colony.
According to British government figures, about 170,000 of them have immigrated to Britain.
Mahmood’s comments were published in a paper released yesterday by the British Parliament’s Human Rights Committee.
Earlier, well-known Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Wu Chi-wai was detained for several hours upon arriving in Britain, where his family currently lives, raising the committee’s concerns.
Hu Zhiwei was convicted of subversion for violating the national security law. He was released in June this year after serving his sentence in Hong Kong.
Britain-based advocacy group Hong Kong Watch welcomed Mahmood’s comments.
The group posted on social platform X: “We welcome this news and will continue to work with the Home Office to ensure that formal processes are put in place.”
British National (Overseas) passport holders (BNOs), i.e. eligible Hong Kongers born before the handover of Hong Kong’s sovereignty to China on 1 July 1997, can apply for a British visa.
People who receive the visa can live and work in the UK for up to 5 years, after which they can apply for British citizenship.
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He said that if Hong Kong people are convicted of taking part in the 2019 pro-democracy protests, they will not lose their eligibility to apply for visas to live and work in the UK, and advocated that the case be handled in the applicant’s favour.
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Mahmood explained in the letter that the UK should avoid allowing such convictions to become a deterrent and focus on confirming whether applicants meet other visa conditions rather than outright excluding them based on conflict-related records alone.
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Eligible British National (Overseas) passport holders can apply for a British visa. Once approved, they can live and work in the UK for up to 5 years, and then apply for British citizenship.
