Permanent residency for Hongkongers may be worth £4bn to UK economy, says thinktank | Immigration and asylum
According to a Thinktank, allowing Hongkonggers to remain permanent five years later, which was moved to England, may become more than 4 billion £ more for the Treasury by 2029.
The analysis by the Chinese Institute of Strategic Risks (CSRI) sent to the Ministry of Interior before the budget shows that the movement can move Hongkonggers to move retirement savings here and earn as much income as a one -year air passenger mission.
The British national (Bno) has moved to England since 2021, more than 160,000 Passports. According to home office figures Earlier this year.
At that time, the conservative government opened a visa route for BNO passport holders in response to China’s pressure on democratic rights and civil freedoms in Hong Kong.
Currently, Hongkonggers and other immigrants can apply for an indefinite permission that will remain in the UK after having lived for five years (ILR). However, the workers’ government announced that it plans to require people to live in England for 10 years before they were appropriate.
It has not yet been determined whether these more restrictive requirements apply to immigrants who are already in the UK or those who come only in the future. The question is a matter of discussion of internal government.
The CSRI’s analysis claims that the Reform British leader Nigel Farage to the UK has come to the UK since 2021 will cost billions of pounds to taxpayers.
Farage promised to completely eliminate IR, and if his party wins the next election, he requires them to apply for a visa. Between 2026-2030, he argued that people tend to be young and low qualified because they became suitable for ILR and claimed that they would be a “big burden on the state”, claiming benefits.
When asked if his policy was applied to Hongkonggers, who came under the government’s special route, Farage said that this would happen. On Monday, he said: “800,000 people are expected to be entitled to permission for the next few years. This press conference will say that none of them will take it.”
Hongkonggers, a BNO visa, do not apply to public funds, which means that although they have become suitable for support after the provision is given, most of the benefits have been rejected.
According to official figures, the average Hongkonger’s Old British territory has a retirement savings of £ 26,376 in the authority of the compulsory precaution fund. After permanently re -settled abroad, Hongkonggers has the right to withdraw and move retirement savings.
As of 2021, officials in Hong Kong recognize BNO passports as a valid travel document or the proof of the permanent re -settlement. The change was seen as retaliation for the UK to open a visa route for Hongkonggers.
Authorities in Hong Kong have warned that pro -democracy activists carrying abroad use national security laws to freeze their existence and that several high -profile exiles could not reach pension savings.
CSRI said that Hongkonggers’ analysis, which allowed permanently reside in England five years later, was an “important economic logic”.
Thinktank Senior Policy Director Sam Goodman said: “Hongkonggers who came to England within the scope of the BNO Visa program brought billions of pounds to the UK economy.
“Our analysis shows that if the UK’s permanent residence road remains unchanged for this Hongkonggers, which is already here, they can bring £ 4 billion to the end of the parliament.
“It is not only a strong moral case for the UK to keep its promise to those who are already in the UK under various visa plans waiting for permanent residence, but also an important economic logic in the case of Hongkongers.”
An Interior Ministry spokesman said: uz We are determined in our support to the Hong Kong community in the UK and the settlement rules within the scope of the British National (Overse) route will continue to be applied. More details of all measures described in the Migration White Book will be specified in time. ”
