With what seems in every respect an open challenge to Beijing, Boris Johnson’s government goes on undaunted with the BN (O) passport and visa program, for Hong Kong citizens who want to relocate and “start a new life ”in Great Britain. At 5 pm on Sunday, Hong Kong time (11 am in Italy), the British consulate website will start receiving applications which, to protect the safety of applicants, can be submitted almost completely online.
London, in short, continues undaunted in its project announced with great international resonance in recent days: to open the doors to over 5 and a half million Hong Kong citizens who have become eligible for the new visa. A visa that will in practice grant them a status equivalent to that of political refugees, the LOTR qualification – “Leave Outside the Rules” – which will allow them to live and work for five years in Great Britain and, in the sixth year, to apply for and obtain permanent British citizenship.
Beijing has reacted badly, indeed very badly, in recent days, in the face of the move announced by the London government, declaring that it will completely deny the validity of BN (O) passports even as tools of simple personal identification. Faced with the fait accompli, China came out with an official statement from the foreign spokesman, Zhao Lijian, which sounds like a real threat to London, not so veiled: “Britain has stubbornly and repeatedly promoted the issue of the BN (O) passport to interfere in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs “said Zhao,” and this will only end up hurting one’s own interests […] No force under any circumstances can erode the determination of the Chinese government and the Chinese people to uphold national sovereignty and security, safeguard Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability and oppose external intervention ”.
Of course, Beijing’s move to “cancel” the validity of British overseas passports was predictable, but what can China do now in the face of a foreign country’s desire to welcome Hong Kong citizens with open arms by granting visas to rain to millions of them? The fundamental novelty of the last few hours, in fact, is that to obtain the special 5-year visa, Hong Kongers will not even need to already be holders of a BN (O) passport: one from Hong Kong or one from the European area will suffice.
Furthermore, until 22 February – and this is another very important news – the whole procedure will take place electronically, except for the collection of biometric data (fingerprints) to register which applicants must go to the British consulate in the district by North Point. From February 23, then, the whole procedure, including the collection of biometric data and those of electronic passports, whether they are BN (O) or Hong Kong or any nation that is part of the European economic area, can carry out totally online. The app studied by London will in fact be able to read the biometric chips on BN (O), HKSAR and European Economic Area passports and thus applicants will no longer have to visit the North Point center to present their fingerprints …
And in this, only apparently secondary, particular, lies entirely the extent of how the situation of democracy in Hong Kong has rapidly and dramatically deteriorated: now a local citizen must fear (and rightly so) for his own freedom and safety if personally goes to apply for a visa at a foreign consulate. Something unthinkable until a few months ago; a rude awakening with a very, too Orwellian flavor, for those who lived in a city that – until yesterday – was a beacon of civil and democratic liberties in Asia.
For his part, Boris Johnson wanted to add an eleven load, personally intervening with an official statement with an epic tone, which however sounds like a slap in the face in Beijing: “I am immensely proud to have introduced this new route to Hong Kong, allowing the inhabitants to live, work and settle in our country, ”said the British Prime Minister. “In doing so,” he continued, “we have honored our deep ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong, and fought for freedom and autonomy, values that both the UK and the citizens of Hong Kong have. in the heart”.
With Hong Kong’s return to China in 1997, Britain granted pre-sovereign Hong Kongers a special BN (O) passport that allowed them to visit Britain for up to six months without being able to establish or to work. At the time, the passport represented a bitter disappointment for Hong Kongers, who were convinced that Britain would grant them full citizenship, as former subjects of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Now, with this exceptional opening, the British government finally redresses that ancient wrong.
Those who apply right away – and until February 22, providing their fingerprints in person at the North Point office, will be required to arrive in the UK no later than 90 days after their application is approved, as they will then have to collect an actual biometric residence permit there. On the other hand, those who apply online via the “UK Immigration: ID Check” app available on iPhone and Android, can move to Great Britain whenever they want. For children under 18, the application must be submitted by both parents. But – and this is another revolutionary novelty – one of the parents will be allowed to stay in Hong Kong to work and earn while the other moves before him to Great Britain with the children; a very flexible immigration program, therefore, which will probably appeal to many who had feared that they could not easily find a job in Britain and which – in all probability, will lead to a massive increase in visa applications.
The cost of this special visa to stay in Great Britain for five years will be equivalent in pounds to approximately € 2200 per person. The Immigration Health Surcharge, which also offers new visa holders access to public health care services, will range from 1330 to 3500 euros, depending on the age of applicants and the length of their visas. The times for processing requests should range from a few days to a maximum of 12 weeks.
The announcement of the new London visa plan has received very positive reactions from the people in Hong Kong. A 32-year-old married man who works in a public organization – and who, as has now become the custom here, preferred to remain anonymous, for fear of retaliation from the government – told the South China Morning Post that he did not. having considered moving to Britain to date, because he was worried that he would not be able to find a job, especially if he decided to have children in the future, but that he was very tempted to do so now. “Many of my friends are hesitant to go too, as it may be difficult to find a job in the UK that pays them as much as they earn here in Hong Kong,” he said.
Several others interviewed by the former colony’s English-language newspaper said they were eager to make their move. And the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Internal Affairs, Priti Patel, seems to have responded to them, who yesterday commented in a statement: “I can’t wait to welcome people who want to take root and build a new life with their family in the UK. This new visa keeps our promise to the people of Hong Kong, honoring our strong historical relationship and defending their freedoms ”.
Now the international community awaits the next Chinese move, which certainly will not be long in coming. What new retaliation will Beijing apply, increasingly irritated, not to say furious, in the face of the British move?
It will probably further exacerbate internal repression in Hong Kong, a repression that the recent liberal-killing law of “National Security” allows, without setting practically any limits.
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