Campaigners gathered outside Downing Street on Sunday to mark the twelfth anniversary of the Umbrella Movement, delivering a petition urging the UK government to overhaul how it assesses BN(O) visa applications from Hongkongers with political convictions.
The delegation included Daniel Kwok, director of Dandelion Solidarity CIC; Christopher Mung, executive director of the Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor; Ng Wai-ho, a Hongkonger currently seeking asylum in Britain; and Vincent Lam, former deputy convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front. The four handed in a letter at No 10 calling on ministers to review the criteria and decision-making process governing BN(O) applications where applicants have been convicted in politically charged cases.
The petition asks the government to weigh the political context, evidence and fairness of the original proceedings when assessing such applications, and to establish a more robust appeals and review mechanism for visa, settlement and citizenship decisions, reflecting Britain’s historic and moral obligations to Hongkongers.
Kwok said the BN(O) scheme was meant to serve as a genuine “lifeboat” for Hongkongers, arguing that a political conviction should not amount to a second punishment, nor should it brand applicants with a lasting stigma.
Mung was more pointed, saying it would be unfair for the Home Office to disregard the political circumstances behind a conviction when reviewing applications, arguing that doing so would be tantamount to endorsing Beijing’s use of politically motivated prosecutions. This, he said, ran directly counter to the founding purpose of the BN(O) scheme. “A genuine lifeboat should not turn away people simply for having spoken out for freedom,” he said. “To do so is little different from handing them back to an authoritarian regime to be dealt with as it pleases.”
Ng, who is seeking asylum in the UK, called on the government to examine each case individually and to create a dedicated protection route for political prisoners who fall outside the scope of the BN(O) scheme. Lam argued that the absence of political sensitivity in current vetting amounted to “sinking the lifeboat” the scheme was supposed to represent.
The group is urging the public to sign a petition calling on the government to amend the rules, arguing that a political conviction should not become another barrier for Hongkongers seeking safety in Britain.
Under current Home Office rules, a criminal conviction resulting in a sentence of 12 months or more, including suspended sentences generally triggers a mandatory refusal for entry or settlement, part of a wider tightening of immigration policy. Criminal record and “good character” checks can also affect the residency and citizenship applications of Hongkongers involved in political cases. Campaigners argue that assessments should not rest solely on the length of a sentence or the fact of a conviction, but should take account of the political context in which a case arose.
The BN(O) “5+1” visa route was introduced after Beijing imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong, in response to the sharp deterioration in human rights and civil liberties that followed, and as part of what ministers described as Britain’s historic and moral responsibility towards Hongkongers. However, reports have suggested that at least 12 Hong Kong political prisoners have had BN(O) applications refused since Andy Burnham took office as prime minister.