Hongkongers Leaving Under BNO Visa Scheme Have Their MPF Pension Withheld

In January 2021, the British government launched the BNO “Leave to Remain” visa scheme. Since then, more than 100,000 Hong Kong people have emigrated to the UK. Some British Hong Kong residents pointed out that they cannot withdraw their MPF (Mandatory Provident Fund) savings in Hong Kong, which has attracted much attention. Recently, some organizations have calculated that financial service institutions withheld about HK$21.5 billion (US$2.73 billion) of MPF savings from Hongkongers who have emigrated to the UK through the BNO visa scheme. British-based NGO “Hong Kong Watch,” which has been consistently concerned about the human rights situation in Hong Kong, published a research report on April 17. It pointed out that according to the letter sent by a Hong Kong bank to the concerned Hong Kong people on the BNO visa scheme, it said the bank followed the Hong Kong government’s guidelines to the MPF Authority (MPFA). And according to the guidelines, those individuals (on the BNO visa scheme) are not allowed to withdraw their MPF funds “in advance.” The Hong Kong MPFA stated that according to the Hong Kong government statement in January 2021, it no longer recognizes BNO passports as valid travel documents nor as identity proofs. Therefore, members of MPF schemes cannot rely on BNO passports or related visas to claim as “evidence of permanent departure from Hong Kong” to apply for early withdrawal of their MPF savings. The Hong Kong Watch pointed out that the CCP unilaterally announced that it would not recognize BNO in response to the BNO visa scheme to prevent hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong people from withdrawing their MPF assets and that this was simply an act of retaliation. Sam Goodman, Hong Kong Watch Director of Policy and Advocacy, analyzed that the CCP government no longer recognizes BNO passports as a kind of retaliation to impose economic penalties on Hong Kong emigrants, which seriously violates the obligations stipulated in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. He said, “This is an act of brazen asset grab, and is designed to financially punish those leaving the territory through the BNO visa scheme. It is intended to warn other people who are considering leaving Hong Kong.” A Hong Kong resident, “Mr. Chan” (pseudonym), who emigrated to the UK through the BNO visa scheme for nearly two years, revealed to the Epoch Times that he had sworn in the UK to “leave Hong Kong permanently.” In response, he hired a British solicitor to supervise the oath and sent it back to Hong Kong with a copy of the “Biometric residence permit.” But the MPF savings can still not be retrieved. HSBC Hong Kong replied to him that the applicant must provide a copy of the passport of full British citizenship after naturalization in the UK before he can retrieve the MPF fund, so Mr. Chan needs to wait a few more years before trying to reapply. According to the BNO visa scheme, Hong Kong people must have lived in the UK for six consecutive years before they can apply for British citizenship. The U.S. “Wall Street Journal (WSJ)” published a commentary entitled “Hong Kong’s Hostage Pensions” on April 14, stating that BNO Hong Kong residents were deprived of their MPF funds. The MPFA later issued a statement calling the “report misleading” and asked the WSJ to retract the content.