According to an interview with Bloomberg, most Hong Kong people sold everything at home before going to the UK, and went to the British Empire with 500,000 to 5 million Hong Kong dollars in cash to make a bet.
Why is it said to be a bet?
Because they were once colonized by the British, some Hong Kong people have a longing for Britain, believing that the grass there is greener. So when the UK released BNO passports to Hong Kong in 2021, many people spent all their money and went to the UK. Some people left the law because of the national security in Hong Kong, some people wanted to give their descendants a different life, and some people wanted to find a place to retire.
China does not recognize the BNO passports of these people. Therefore, these people who sold their property can be said to have completely cut off their ties with Hong Kong, including many relatives who are still in Hong Kong.
A British spokesman said: "BNO is an unprecedented and generous act that reflects the United Kingdom's historical and moral responsibility to the people of Hong Kong. Johnson also vowed on the 225th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to that he would not give up Hong Kong.
But what kind of responsibilities does the UK give to Hong Kong people? Although BNO allows them to stay in the UK for five years, they cannot enjoy the social benefits of the British. They will be eligible to apply for British citizenship after six years. It is still unknown whether they can obtain nationality.
Before this, many wealthy people in Hong Kong used investment visas, which may cost millions of dollars in assets. But this time, since the applicant is only required to support himself for 6 months (one People only need 20,000 to 30,000 yuan), and there are no restrictions on savings, skills, etc., so many ordinary Hong Kong people are willing to make a desperate move, but these people do not expect that their families cannot afford to immigrate to the UK.
After applying for a visa, you must purchase medical insurance and wait at least 16 weeks to obtain a national insurance number before you are eligible to find a job. During this period, your family will have to rest on their laurels, not to mention that many of them have not even completed the BNO review before arriving in the UK. After waiting for 5 months to get BNO, it is very likely that there will be no income for a whole year. If calculated this way, how long can hundreds of thousands of cash last?
Half of the people are unemployed, and many people are working as temporary workers.
According to the UK According to the survey results of the Hong Kong Overseas Chinese Association (HKB), seven out of ten people have a bachelor's degree or above, and more than half of them earned HK$30,000 or more per month before immigrating to the UK. Many people worked in finance and insurance before immigrating to the UK. industries, information dissemination and education.
But the reality is that many people are trapped in low-paying and exploitative jobs as cleaners, construction workers, transport workers or temporary workers because it is only in these places that jobs are easy to find. .
Many people said that they were mentally prepared before going to the UK. Even if these people are willing to do such a low-paying and tiring job, only 18.5% of them have found a full-time job, and half of them are still unemployed.
Most of the people who go to the UK have many years of work experience. However, because they have no work, bank, credit and other records, many people’s English skills are not up to standard, and their work experience in Hong Kong is not enough. It is admitted that many people are unable to find their ideal job. Due to the double blow of Brexit and the COVID-19 epidemic, the UK is now in urgent need of jobs in the wholesale and retail industry, administrative services, and logistics and warehousing industries. This does not match the supply and demand of Hong Kong immigrants.
So, while some people will find that Britain can get everything they want, these people are in the minority.
Enoch is homeless
A Hong Kong man named Enoch said in an interview with Sky News that he arrived in the UK before the BNO channel was launched, and the 10,000 pounds (80,000 yuan) he had with him had long been spent, and now he has none. He had money to buy a BNO passport and national insurance. Without these, he would not be able to find a job and would be homeless.
He feels that BNO is for rich people. He had a good life in Hong Kong before, but now he feels betrayed by the British government.
Life is difficult, and they are also looked down upon by compatriots and British people.
Even so, more than 100,000 people have applied for BNO passports in the past year.
Since BNO passports are not recognized by China, many people are unable to withdraw their retirement funds from Hong Kong banks and other institutions.
There are reports that EU truck drivers are reluctant to come to the UK due to Brexit, and the UK is in urgent need of 100,000 truck drivers. This resulted in shortages of goods in stores. Coupled with the impact of the new crown epidemic, the UK is now suffering from inflation , product shortages and high unemployment. Gas prices and meat prices have increased, and many Hong Kong people who immigrated to the UK have complained online that they no longer dare to make soup.
There are also great differences in the Chinese community in the UK, divided into the 'blue camp' and the 'yellow camp'." "The blue camp are those who defend the status quo and loyally support the Chinese government, while the 'yellow camp' is the opposite. In July 2020, 200 British Chinese organizations from the "blue" camp issued a public statement supporting the National Security Law.
Many British Chinese business people belong to the "blue camp". Therefore, the latest wave of Hong Kong people are vulnerable to hostility from some Chinese people.
In addition, new arrivals from Hong Kong are also not welcomed by British locals. The UK has just experienced its worst economic recession in 300 years. Millions of people are at home due to the epidemic, and many people have anti-China sentiments as a result. Many British people worry that such a large number of new immigrants will take up their own resources and facilities.
It is difficult to buy a house, and even more difficult to rent.
Housing is the biggest difficulty these people face when they come to the UK.
Due to difficulties in housing, living costs and finding better schools, this group of Hong Kongers tend to choose to live in smaller towns, away from big cities where traditional Chinese communities are concentrated.
Those relatively famous Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh are far beyond the budget of most people. Cities outside London, including Reading and Birmingham in England and Glasgow in Scotland, are popular with Hong Kongers due to their lower cost of living. Even the town of Slough, considered unfit for human habitation, was renamed the perfect commuter town and "investment hotspot".
Landlords usually refuse to rent out houses because they do not have local bank account numbers or work records. Because the British government has regulations on landlords, appointing them as internal border guards to check whether foreign tenants have the right to live in the UK. But many landlords don’t understand BNO’s immigration status.
html After working in real estate in Hong Kong, 136-year-old Tom Liu arrived in London in September with confidence that he could rent a house within a few weeks.
However, because he cannot work and only has HKD 65,000 in his account, he cannot afford to rent his favorite single room in East London for HKD 10,800 per month (6-12 months of rent must be paid in advance), so he can only rent a cubicle from a sinister landlord. inside. The three bedrooms here are divided into six, and eight people live there. He has to pay 6,300 Hong Kong dollars.
His current salary in the UK is HK$17,000, which is much lower than the per capita salary in Hong Kong of HK$29,000.
Aime Cui*, her husband and two daughters arrived in Birmingham in November. The family had never been to Birmingham, but Chui said she was inspired by a video posted by a Hong Konger living in the UK showing the good schools and employment opportunities in the West Midlands city.
The family brought HK$2 million when new crown cases surged, and they finally arrived after overcoming numerous blockades. But soon, the landlord canceled showings after discovering Cui and her husband, who is in his 50s, were unemployed.
Mandy Leung, her husband and two sons, aged 10 and 13, arrived in the UK in January with HK$4 million in savings to start a new life.
They chose to settle in Liverpool on the recommendation of a friend who lived in Liverpool. They originally planned to spend half their savings on buying a house, but now they are renting.
They eventually found a three-bedroom house and, at the landlord's request, paid 12 months' rent in advance - HK$127,000.
Cui said: "I am worried about the future, whether we can make a living and give our children a better future. I think about this every day,"
According to the latest research, nearly half of Hong Kong people holding BNO passports have already Got depression or anxiety. I think these people most likely did not expect that they would encounter such an experience after coming to the UK. But if you taste the wine you brew for yourself, what can others say?
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