and security are being provided in name only once they arrive in britain. after a crackdown on dissent and protests in hong kong by the chinese authorities, the uk government offered a route out, at the end ofjanuary this year under british national 0verseas visa applications. but many former hong kong residents are finding that once they arrive in the uk housing, education and support is severely lacking. an advocacy group says not enough is being done to support those fleeing persecution. a little earlier, julian chan from the group hong kongers in britain , told me more about what hong kongers face when they come to the uk. in the next year, until the end of january 2022, it is expected that 123-153,000 bno status holders can come to the uk. and the latest figures from the government show that around 65,000 of hong kong bno visas have been issued, with about 47,300 having arrived in the uk.
because it can be slow and cumbersome, as it takes up to five years for a decision to be made we hope that the uk government can offer more discretion and understanding in terms of approving asylum seeking amongst hong kongers, because many of them need dire support because, first of all, we regard it as unfair the only high profile hong kongers are successful in receiving their refugee protection in the uk. but we should remember that the pro democracy movement in hong kong in 2019 was leaderless, which means masses of young protesters have been fully masked and their identities hidden in fear of reprisals. but many of them sacrificed their freedom and future to uphold our core values and beliefs of freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law. julian, with all due respect, given the situation you re describing for hong kongers who want to leave the immediate threat, would you not acknowledge, for people in afghanistan who are trying to get to the uk
seems far more dire? you re right. i mean, afghans have been offered a peaceful route which will seat 20,000 refugees settling in the uk over five years. unfortunately, there s no such quota for hong kongers seeking asylum, nor is there the infrastructure support for hong kong asylum seekers in the uk. so, what we would like to see is the uk government, whether there s the possibility for any discretion beyond the current route for asylum for hong kongers, which would be humane and robust. julian chan. we have reaction to our story, the british government says backed by over £43 million for this financial year,.
The U.K. thinks spies from China are trying to hide among those fleeing Hong Kong through a special program intended to offer critics of Beijing a way out.