20/06/2026
Do not force Hongkongers facing persecution into irregular routes.
The UK must create a dedicated humanitarian access pathway for Hongkongers at risk.
After the 2019 pro-democracy movement, the UK Government introduced the BN(O) visa route, allowing many Hong Kong families to leave fear behind and rebuild their lives in safety.
But not every Hongkonger facing political risk can use that route.
Some took part in peaceful protests. Some were charged with “riot”, “unlawful assembly”, public order offences, or other politically sensitive charges. Some have been released after serving prison sentences, but continue to face supervision, stigma, travel restrictions, political surveillance and the risk of renewed persecution.
To a UK reader, these may look like ordinary criminal records. But in Hong Kong’s current political context, many cases arising from the 2019 movement cannot be understood without reference to political prosecution, unfair trials, and the wider crackdown on civil liberties.
This creates a serious protection gap.
A person who may have a credible asylum or protection claim can still be blocked before they ever reach the UK — because immigration rules may treat them mechanically as someone with a criminal record, or as someone who fails criminality, suitability or public-good requirements.
The question is simple:
If a person cannot lawfully reach the UK in order to ask for protection, what choices are left?
According to publicly available Home Office asylum data, between 2019 Q3 and 2026 Q1, some Hong Kong asylum cases were recorded under the Home Office statistical category of “Illegal Entry Routes”, including:
55 cases｜Entered without relevant documentation
17 cases｜Clandestine entry
1 case｜Small boat arrival
We must be absolutely clear: the word “illegal” here refers to the Home Office statistical category. It should not be used to label the identity of any person seeking asylum, and it does not remove their right to make an asylum claim.
“Entered without relevant documentation” generally refers to a person arriving in the UK without being able to present the passport, visa, entry clearance or other documents required for lawful entry.
“Clandestine entry” generally refers to a person entering outside normal border control procedures, for example by being found hidden in a lorry, container, ferry, train or other form of transport, or being detected shortly after arrival.
When politically sensitive Hong Kong cases are treated as ordinary criminality, people who need protection may be pushed away from safe, lawful and transparent routes. The system gap can drive people into more dangerous journeys, less visible procedures, and greater public stigma.
On World Refugee Day 2026, we have submitted a joint letter to the UK Home Secretary and Home Office ministers calling for the creation of a:
Hong Kong Humanitarian Access and Protection Referral Mechanism
We urge the UK Government to:
1. Maintain safe, lawful and humanitarian access to protection, so Hongkongers at risk are not forced to rely on dangerous or irregular routes.
2. Establish a case-by-case referral mechanism for Hongkongers who are unable to use ordinary immigration routes because of political prosecution, politically sensitive convictions, or credible risks of persecution.
3. Review how ETA, visitor visas, BN(O), spouse visas, work visas, student visas and other immigration routes assess Hong Kong political cases, so that politically motivated prosecutions are not treated mechanically as ordinary criminal records.
4. Issue clear guidance to UKVI caseworkers, Border Force officers, overseas visa application centres and airlines, so that credible protection needs can be identified, recorded and referred.
5. Work with Hongkonger community groups, refugee-support organisations, lawyers, human rights groups and frontline communities in the UK to build practical referral, safeguarding and legal-support arrangements.
6. In response to concerns raised by press freedom organisations, explore additional safe visa routes for persecuted journalists, media workers and human rights defenders, as a complementary part of a wider Hong Kong protection pathway.
Protection should not disappear in the gaps between immigration rules and asylum law.
Read the full joint letter:
https://www.patreon.com/DandelionSolidarity/posts/161557144
Source: Home Office, Immigration system statistics data tables, “Asylum claims and initial decisions detailed datasets”, table Asy_D01a: People claiming asylum by route of entry to the UK.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables
Note: The figures above are filtered by Nationality = Hong Kong, Quarter = 2019 Q3–2026 Q1, and Route of entry group = Illegal Entry Routes. The figures are based on the date of asylum claim, not the date of arrival in the UK. Home Office table Asy_D01a explains how people claiming asylum entered the UK; it is different from the Illegal Entry Routes datasets, which are based on arrival dates. Therefore, totals may differ between datasets.
