Students who fled Hong Kong to live in the UK say they have been left in limbo over their immigration and university fee status after Sir Keir Starmer announced changes to the visa system.
A group of Labour MPs has called on the government to allow Hong Kongers on British National Overseas (BNO) visas to be able to pay the same tuition fees as Britons and access student loans.
Thousands of young people from Hong Kong moved to Britain after a visa route was opened in 2021 to allow those who felt persecuted by the territory’s government to come to the UK.
At the time, then prime minister Boris Johnson said up to three million people from the territory holding BNO status and their eligible family members would be able to apply to live, study and work in Britain, and would be able to apply for settled status after five years – and after a further 12 months, apply for British citizenship.
However, the government’s immigration plan announced on Monday said immigrants will now have to wait 10 years to gain settled status and there would be a “review” into whether BNO visas would be included in that – leaving them in limbo.
Hong Kong BNO visa holders currently pay international university fees, which are around £22,000 a year for undergraduates but can reach £60,000 each year for medical degrees, before living expenses.
Asylum seekers granted refugee status, and others on humanitarian visas such as Afghans and Ukrainians get home fee status straight away, which means they pay the same as UK students – a fee capped at £9,535 a year for standard full-time courses.
Sky News spoke to students, including one who wants to be an NHS paediatrician, who said they will have to delay going to university this year – or not go at all – because their families cannot afford the international fees.
Read more: What are Sir Keir Starmer’s new immigration rules?
A pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong in 2019. Pic: Reuters
Labour MP Blair McDougall, chair of the cross-party parliamentary group on Hong Kong, said many concerned Hong Kongers have contacted him since the white paper, which he said “rightly recognises the role the UK played in welcoming Hong Kongers after the crackdown” on pro-democracy activism.
He called on the government to reduce the time Hong Kongers have to be in the UK before gaining home fee status.
“This is an ongoing crisis, not simply an event in the past and we should be clear that the UK remains a sanctuary for those who we owe a historic debt to. Beijing may have broken its promises to British Hong Kongers, we never should,” he added.
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Blair McDougall said lots of Hong Kongers have contacted him, concerned about their immigration status. Pic: Parliament
I’ll have to delay starting medicine
Isaac Chan, 18, who participated in pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, came to the UK with his family in 2021 for “political reasons”.
He wants to study medicine but said his parents, who work in the NHS and teaching, cannot afford the “absurd” fees, so he thinks he will have to delay going to university for a year – or longer – until he gets settled status and can pay home fees.
“That’s not ideal because if you want to do medicine, you want to get on with it because it takes a long time,” he told Sky News.
“The government said the BNO visa is a humanitarian visa, it’s similar to asylum – concern for safety and political freedom – so I would say it’s quite unfair we cannot get home fee status when asylum seekers do.
“I can’t go back to Hong Kong now, and I will be staying in the UK, contributing to UK society, as will my family so it only seems fair to get home fee status.”
We are treated as British nationals but have to pay international fees
Eunice, 18, moved to Scotland with her family at the end of 2022 and wants to study forensic investigation to work with the police, but will have to delay the unconditional place she has by a year – or more if settled status takes 10 years.
Scotland allows BNO holders to pay home fees after three years, but students have to continue paying whatever fees they began their course with, even if their status changes mid-university.
“Either I postpone my education or go under extreme financial pressure,” she said.
“I feel it’s unfair our ambitions are being held back by this system that doesn’t recognise our long-term commitment to the UK.
“It’s complicated because we are treated as our nationality being British, but then we have to pay international fees, which doesn’t seem fair.
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‘Hong Kong’s become a policed state’
I might have to drop out
Her sister, Kalvina, 22, is studying psychology in Edinburgh but may have to drop out because the family cannot afford to keep paying international fees.
“I see Scotland as my long-term home and have worked really hard to contribute, but having to pay international fees is very overwhelming, both mentally and financially,” she said.
Morally and economically right
James Naish, the Labour MP for Rushcliffe, which has the UK’s largest Hong Kong population, said granting home fee status would not just be morally right, but also economically.
“Young BNOs could be tomorrow’s doctors and engineers, but they are currently priced out of university by high fees,” he told Sky News.
“Granting home fees to BNOs would be the right decision morally, and the sensible decision economically.
“I urge the government to grant these changes and ensure that we fulfil Labour’s commitment to ensuring access to education for all.”
James Naish has the UK’s largest population of Hong Kongers in his constituency. Pic: Parliament
‘Devastating impact’
Bolton West’s Labour MP, Phil Brickell, said extending settled status eligibility to 10 years would have “devastating impacts” on young BNO holders’ lives.
“No British national living in the UK should be made to wait a decade to attend university, and the government should carefully consider this potential impact in its proposed reforms to the immigration rules,” he said.
Govt should give BNO holders home fee status
Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East, which also has a high number of Hong Kong BNOs, said a key policy commitment for her party is equal access to education.
“But right now, BNO Hong Kongers, who are making their home here, are often priced out of university study, and having to put their academic and career goals on hold for years on end,” she told Sky News.
“The government should extend eligibility for home fee status to those who hold a BNO visa, as they rightly have for those who have arrived under schemes for Ukraine and Afghanistan.”
Labour MP Nadia Whittome has many Hong Kongers in her constituency of Nottingham East
Lib Dem MP Bobby Dean, who has thousands of Hong Kongers in his Carshalton and Wallington constituency, accused the government of treating them like “second-class citizens”.
“We should be helping them build their futures in the UK, not putting additional barriers in their way,” he said.
Thomas Benson, policy advisor at Hong Kong Watch, said changing the rules now would be a “devastating blow”.
“The prospect that an 18-year old BNO student may be forced to wait ten years to afford tuition fees in the UK is simply unconscionable,” he said.
“I cannot believe that UK government policy would be so cruel and self-defeating, and I urge the government to clarify as soon as possible that the five-year eligibility requirement for BNOs will remain untouched.”
A government spokeswoman told Sky News: “The BNO route reflects the UK’s historic and moral commitment to those people of Hong Kong who chose to retain their ties to the UK by taking up BNO status.
“British National Overseas status holders who have achieved settled status and meet the three-year ordinary residence requirement are entitled to student support on the same footing as others with settled status, ensuring fair access to education.
“We remain committed to upholding values of opportunity and inclusion, which is why higher education providers have the discretion to waive or reduce tuition fees according to individual circumstances.”
