As a result of a change to immigration rules, Hong Kong residents with the British national (overseas) passport can now apply for a new immigration route that enables them to stay in the UK for five years.
In response to the needs of recent arrivals, the UK government has published a guide to assist: Welcome: a guide for Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa holders in the UK – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). In addition, the MHCLG (Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) is going to provide funding to the Strategic Migration Partnerships around the country to support the new arrivals (National welcome for Hong Kong arrivals – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)).
We at the EELGA SMP are just starting to set up this support. It has been confirmed that BNO passport holders will be able to access our AMIF-funded WW4RI project (Well being and Work for Refugee Integration Project – EELGA SMP) for example. However we need to know where these new arrivals are located, how many there are and what support needs people have.
- If you work in a school, for a council or local charity and have had requests for help from newly arrived people from Hong Kong, please contact us and let us know where you are based, how many families you are working with and what sort of resettlement advice they need. Please email us at Justin.Leung@eelga.gov.uk.
If you are newly arrived from Hong Kong – welcome to the East of England!
If you have recently arrived from Hong Kong, we would like to start providing you with assistance. The East of England Local Government association covers the following counties:
Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
This includes the local authorities listed on this page: Local Government in the East of England – EELGA.
If you live in a different location, you will need to contact the Strategic Migration Partnership in your area. You can find a list of these here: About – North West Regional Strategic Migration Partnership (northwestrsmp.org.uk)
If you live in the East of England, please complete our questionnaire so we can know a little more about you:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/NDPXSXQ
We will then contact you for more information. This could include referring you to local organisations that already help people from other countries who have arrived recently.