13th July 2024 – (Hong Kong) Over the past few years, an estimated 200,000 Hong Kong residents have emigrated abroad, with the United Kingdom and Canada as the top two popular destinations. The exodus has continued unabated in the first half of this year.
According to the U.K. Home Office, more than 140,000 Hong Kong residents holding British National (Overseas) (BNO) passports have arrived in the U.K. since the BNO visa scheme was launched in 2021. In the first quarter of 2023 alone, another 10,737 BNO visas were granted.
Canada has also seen a significant influx of Hong Kong immigrants through its “Hong Kong Pathway” programme introduced in 2021. The programme, divided into Stream A for students and Stream B for workers, issued nearly 6,000 visas related to Hong Kong in the first two quarters of this year, up 1,000 from the same period last year.
Migration consultants have noted that the majority of Hong Kong immigrants are young and middle-aged, typically between 31 to 50 years old. This trend is reflected in Hong Kong’s overall labour force, which has steadily declined from around 3.99 million in mid-2019 to 3.795 million at the end of last year.
The BNO visa scheme launched by the U.K. government in 2021 has been a major pull factor, attracting a large number of Hong Kong residents to migrate. Statistics show that 96,000 and 57,000 BNO visas were granted in 2021 and 2022 respectively, with a further 10,737 issued in the first quarter of 2023.
Canada’s “Hong Kong Pathway” programme, with its dedicated streams for students and workers, has also emerged as a popular destination for Hong Kong emigrants. The programme saw a 1,000 increase in study and work visas related to Hong Kong in the first two quarters of this year compared to the same period in 2022.