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Hong Kongers in the United Kingdom

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"Hongkongers in Britain" redirects here. For the Association, see Hongkongers in Britain (association).
Hong Kongers in the UK
Total population
United Kingdom Hong Kong-born residents in the United Kingdom: 135,312 – 0.2%
(2021/22 Census)[note 1]
 England: 117,714 – 0.2% (2021)[1]
 Scotland: 11,901 – 0.2% (2022)[2]
 Wales: 3,715 – 0.1% (2021)[1]
Northern Ireland: 1,982 – 0.1% (2021)[3]
Other estimates:
est. 280,000 – accounting for BN(O) arrivals (2024)[4]
Hong Kong citizens/passports held:
19,489 (England and Wales only, 2021)[5]
Languages
English (British English, Hong Kong English), Hong Kong Cantonese, Hong Kong Hakka
Religion
Atheism, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism
Related ethnic groups
British Chinese, Britons in Hong Kong
  1. ^ Does not include Hong Kongers born in the United Kingdom, Mainland China (mainly Guangdong Province) or elsewhere
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Hong Kongers in the United Kingdom (also known as Hong Kong Britons) are people from Hong Kong who are residing in the United Kingdom or British nationals of Hong Kong origin or descent.

The 2021 United Kingdom census recorded a total population of about 135,300 Hong Kong-born residents. Since the implementation of the British National (Overseas) visa route in the same year, 144,400 BN(O) status holders from Hong Kong have arrived in the United Kingdom.[6]

Background

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The United Kingdom has historically been a popular destination for Hong Kong immigrants due to the colonial relationship between the two territories.[7] The British Nationality Act 1948 allowed Hong Kong-born residents to move to the UK free of restriction. The UK's popularity among Hong Kong immigrants was also helped by the fact that the English language enjoys official status in both territories. While many Hong Kong-born residents of the UK are ethnically Boat Dwellers and/or Chinese, others include the children of colonial parentage (British and/or other European heritage, and people with ancestries from other parts of the former British colonial empire) born in Hong Kong prior to the transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997.[8]

In July 2020, following the implementation of new national security laws in Hong Kong by China, the UK offered a pathway to citizenship for British Nationals (Overseas) status holders in Hong Kong.[9] In the first year of the policy, 103,900 people applied for the BN(O) visa, which had almost doubled to 191,000 by January 2024.[10][4]

Demographics

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Hong Kong-born residents by ethnic group (2021 census, England and Wales)[11]

The 2001 census recorded 96,445 Hong Kong-born people residing in the United Kingdom.[12] The 2011 census recorded 98,724 Hong Kong-born people resident in England, 3,517 in Wales,[13] 7,586 in Scotland[14] and 1,906 in Northern Ireland.[15] The figure in Scotland was 7,068 in 2001 and 5,910 in 1991.[16][17] The 2021 census recorded 117,714 Hong Kong-born people resident in England, 11,901 in Scotland, 3,715 in Wales and 1,982 in Northern Ireland.[18][2][19] The 2021 census was conducted less than two months after the implementation of the new BN(O) visa scheme in January 2021 so there is a likelihood that few of its beneficiaries had been recorded by the census.[20] Figures from the Home Office in January 2024 showed that over 144,000 Hong Kongers have moved to the UK since the start of 2021, more than doubling the size of the community.[4]

Hong Kongers who migrated to the UK under the BN(O) visa scheme introduced in 2021 were predominately in their 30s and 40s, 70 per cent were graduates and 39 per cent had a professional occupational background.[21] According to The Economist, reasons for this demographic include the fact that only people born before 1997 are eligible for British National (Overseas) status, and that families with children are particularly eager to emigrate from Hong Kong following the introduction of the territory's national security law.[22] BN(O) arrivals tended to move to affordable areas and suburbs outside of London that had a strong schooling system, with popular destinations named as Salford, Trafford, Warrington, Solihull and Sutton.[23][24]

Politics

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Civil society groups have been set up to increase voter registration and to tackle issues affecting the community for the 100,000-140,000 BN(O) arrivals expected to be eligible to vote.[25] A survey conducted at the end of 2022 by the University of Liverpool on Hong Kongers who came to the UK through the BN(O) visa pathway suggested that more than half of the new arrivals would vote Conservatives, 16 per cent for the Liberal Democrats and 14 per cent for Labour.[26] Amongst the Chinese ethnic group in general, another survey conducted in 2023 found that Conservatives (40 per cent) led Labour (37 per cent) by 3 points.[27]

Community

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Hong Kong migrants under the BN(O) visa pathway to citizenship have created several self-help organisations, including Hongkongers in Britain and the Sutton Hongkongers Group, to support and advocate for each other since the pathway was introduced. Many of these organisations were set up because new Hong Kong migrants often fear recently established Chinese community groups that are aligned with the government in Beijing.[22]

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "TS012: Country of birth (detailed)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Table UV204 - Country of birth: Country by Country of Birth by Individuals". National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 24 May 2024. '2022' > 'All of Scotland' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Country of birth: UV204'
  3. ^ "MS-A17: Country of birth - intermediate detail". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Loughton, Tim (23 January 2024). "Human Rights in Hong Kong - Volume 744: debated on Tuesday 23 January 2024". UK Parliament Hansard. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  5. ^ "TS013: Passports held (detailed)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Safe and Legal (Humanitarian) routes to the UK". Home Office. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  7. ^ "香港移民潮：戰後港人歷次「走出去」的因由". BBC News 中文 (in Traditional Chinese). 1 February 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Born abroad: Hong Kong". BBC News. 7 September 2005. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
  9. ^ "Hong Kong security law: Why we are taking our BNOs and leaving". BBC News. 11 July 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Summary of latest statistics". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Country of birth (extended) and ethnic group". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Country-of-birth database". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Archived from the original on 25 April 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  13. ^ "2011 Census: Country of birth (expanded), regions in England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Country of birth (detailed)" (PDF). National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  15. ^ "Country of Birth – Full Detail: QS206NI". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  16. ^ "Scotland's Diaspora" (PDF). gov.scot. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  17. ^ Scottish Government, St Andrew's House (5 October 2009). "Scotland's Diaspora and Overseas-Born Population". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  18. ^ "Country-of-birth (detailed)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  19. ^ "MS-A17 Country of birth - intermediate detail". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  20. ^ "Release plans: Our proposed plans for the release of Census 2021 data and analysis". ons.gov.uk. Office for National Statistics. 24 May 2022. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  21. ^ "'We are all thinking about how to contribute': Hongkongers boost Britain's suburbs". Financial Times. 29 May 2023.
  22. ^ a b "Britain's newest immigrant group is unlike any that came before". The Economist. 23 September 2021. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  23. ^ "How Salford became Britain's little Hong Kong". The Times. 10 June 2023.
  24. ^ "Why don't immigrants want to live in Scotland?". The Times. 14 June 2023.
  25. ^ "Hongkongers make a splash in UK politics". Financial Times. 10 November 2023.
  26. ^ Yu, Cindy (11 November 2023). "Hong Kongers likely to vote Tory, says new poll". The Spectator.
  27. ^ Kanagasooriam, James (3 January 2024). "Non-white Britain is more diverse than ever". The Times. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  28. ^ "Gok Wan: 'I call my family the Transformers. Once we lock together, we become a force'". the Guardian. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
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