UK SPECIAL VISA SCHEME FOR HONG KONG RESIDENTS

About:

• The visas will be issued to those in Hong Kong who hold a British National (Overseas) passport and their immediate dependents, and will offer a fast track to UK citizenship.
  
  
• Applicants who get the visa can live and work in the UK for 5 years, after which they apply for settlement. Twelve months after this, they can apply for citizenship.
  
  
• Comment:
  
  
• The move is considered the UK’s most generous welcoming of foreign workers since the entry of new EU citizens in 2004 — when 10 countries were added to the bloc– at a time when the UK was also a member.
  
  
• The move comes months after China imposed a sweeping national security law over the former British colony, taking aim at pro-democracy protests that had captured global attention since 2019.