New research finds Hong Kongers feel welcomed in UK

A major new report published today finds that Hong Kongers coming to the UK on the new BN(O) visa scheme feel welcomed thanks to the solid foundations laid by the Welcoming programme – and examines how to build on this to ensure they can thrive in the UK.

Almost 18 months after the scheme was launched –allowing those with BN(O) status and their eligible family members to apply to live, study and work in the UK – over 125,000 Hong Kongers have secured a British National (Overseas) visa and projections suggest up to half a million Hong Kongers could come to live in Britain over the next few years.

The report, Settling in: Hong Kongers and their new lives in the UK, published by the Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers, examines all aspects of Hong Kongers’ integration into the UK.

The research suggests that, while people are navigating sometimes complex practical issues such as finding a house, job and school places for children, efforts to welcome Hong Kongers to the UK and help them settle in local communities are going well.

The research examines the profile of Hong Kongers coming to the UK and finds that many are professionals and some entrepreneurs, but that not everyone arriving is well-off. Most are bringing children of school age and some are bringing elderly parents. Others are, in effect, political refugees.

The report highlights the geographical spread of new arrivals from Hong Kong as a point that policy-makers should note in the context of the levelling up agenda. It also discusses the wider context of welcoming new arrivals, including those from Afghanistan and Ukraine, and the lessons that can be shared across different welcoming programmes.

Education is a standout theme of the research with the report flagging the important role schools will play in supporting the next generation of British Hong Kongers. It notes that some are anxious about access to higher education, given that young Hong Kongers could still be faced with international student fees.

Daniel Korski, Chair of the Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers, said:

“Hong Kongers now join the children of the kindertransport, the Windrush generation from the Commonwealth and the Polish workers who came after 2004 among the iconic examples of Britain’s long history of migration and integration.

“The Government’s Hong Kong Welcoming Programme is one of Britain’s most proactive integration programmes for any incoming group. This research suggests that, with the right planning, we are on a path to ensuring the migration of Hong Kongers works well both for those who come to the UK and the communities that they join."

Sunder Katwala, Director of thinktank British Future which hosts the Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers, said:

“Hong Kongers are settling-in well to Britain and the welcoming programme has laid solid foundations. The challenge for the welcomed and the welcomers now is how we can ensure that they thrive. That will require a broader circle of engagement – across education, employers and civil society – in this next phase. By showing how a proactive approach can help make integration work, getting the Hong Kong welcoming agenda right can help foster a new era of welcoming in Britain.”

Work comes out as another recurring theme, with some Hong Kongers facing practical challengers to contributing their skills, for example converting qualifications, such as those in nursing, so they can practice in the UK.

Kitty, a nurse who has recently moved from Hong Kong to Colchester in Essex, said of her experience settling into the UK: “I would like to continue my profession here. I would like to contribute, for example I have experience in taking care of elders. I want to benefit the community and the elderly in the NHS system. I appreciate that I might need local experience first. I need and want to make an effort to help and make a difference.”

More conversation clubs and opportunities for social contact are also recommended in the report, especially given the public appetite to help new arrivals settle into the communities they join.

Peggy, who arrived from Hong Kong with her two young children and husband in 2020, now works at a local ‘Coffee and Craft’ community project in Reading funded by the Welcome Programme. She said:

“It is important for us to integrate into the community, even though we have not forgotten people in Hong Kong. We want to contribute ourselves to the community here. Being a volunteer at the Cafe, and now coordinator, has helped me. I work with different people. I communicate with different people. It helps with my English.”

The Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers helps to coordinate the UK’s welcoming efforts across civil society, communities, business, education and government. It conducts research to inform policy and shares best practice around the integration of Hong Kongers. It also supports welcoming organisations working to help new arrivals from Hong Kong to settle and integrate in the UK.

The Welcoming Committee, housed at the charity British Future, is one of the national VCSE grant recipients for the Hong Kong BN(O) Welcome Programme, administered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.