As of Sunday, Hong Kong residents can apply for a visa that paves the way for British citizenship, according to Reuters. The new program coincides with the fact that China and Hong Kong no longer recognize the British National Overseas Passport (NBO) as a valid travel document. Britain and China have discussed China’s attempt to silence pro-democracy protesters who were arrested in large numbers in 2019 and 2020.
The British government says the new visa program is part of a moral commitment to Hong Kong residents after Beijing imposed a strict security law that violates the conditions under which the semi-autonomous city was handed over to China in 1997. Visa is expected to attract over 300,000 people living in both Hong Kong and the UK. China has said that visa holders will become “second-class citizens”.
Read it at Reuters