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- The U.K. Government has created a £43 million (about A$77.17 million) fund to help Hong Kong citizens fleeing their home country due to increasing repression
- A new visa is being offered to overseas nationals living in Hong Kong after China imposed a new National Security Law on the former British colony
- Around 27,000 have already applied for the new visa, which allows people from Hong Kong to move to the U.K. and eventually apply for citizenship
- The new fund set will cover the cost of integration programs and help new arrivals access housing, education and jobs.
- Additionally, the British Government has offered Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy activist Nathan Law asylum in the country
The U.K. Government has created a new £43 million (about A$77.17 million) fund to help Hong Kong citizens fleeing their home country due to political repression.
A new visa is being offered to overseas nationals living in Hong Kong after China imposed a new National Security Law on the former British colony.
The special visas for British National passport holders allow overseas nationals to live and work in the U.K. for five years.
After the five years are done, the visa holders can then apply for British citizenship and live there permanently.
Around 27,000 people have already applied for the new visa, which covers an estimated five million Hong Kong citizens.
The new fund set up by the U.K. Government will cover the cost of integration programs, which help new arrivals access housing, education and jobs.
“We promised to uphold freedom for the people of Hong Kong, which is why I am proud that we have been able to support so many people when they have needed our help,” Home Secretary Priti Patel said.
“It’s an unprecedented and generous scheme and there is no other visa in the world of this nature. We are working hard to successfully resettle people here and recognise there is nothing more difficult than leaving your home to rebuild a life in a new country,” she added.
In addition to the fund and visas, the British Government has also offered Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy activist Nathan Law asylum in the country.
The activist left Hong Kong last year shortly after the national security law was imposed, stating he’d left due to “safety concerns.”
