The newly established UK immigration route for British National Overseas (BNO) citizens from Hong Kong has only been open for two weeks but almost 5,000 have already applied for the scheme, British newspaper The Times reported.
The scheme opened for applications on 31 January and offers up to 5.4 million Hongkongers a five-year visa and a path to full British citizenship.
According to reports, UK government sources said that about half of the 5,000 applications received were from Hongkongers who were already in Britain having been granted Leave Outside the Rules.
This offered temporary settlement for those fleeing China’s security crackdown while waiting for the visa route to open last month.
The UK government said it expects about 300,000 people to use the newly launched scheme in its first five years.
