Hong Kong primary schools lost 19,280 pupils to UK emigration wave, making it hardest-hit among city’s education sector

Hong Kong primary schools have been hit the hardest in the education sector by an emigration wave to the United Kingdom, with 19,280 children between the ages of six and 11 relocating to the country over the past 2½ years, according to official data.

A sector representative said the trend could be attributed to parents hoping to pave the way for their children to study at British universities with “home fee status”, which allowed them to pay local charges at tertiary institutions after obtaining permanent residency by living in the country for five years under the British National (Overseas) visa scheme.

The Post had asked the British Home Office for data showing the age group breakdown of BN(O) visas granted to Hongkongers to examine the impact of the scheme on different levels of the education sector.

Britain has received 190,997 applications for BN(O) visas since the introduction of the bespoke scheme for Hongkongers, according to official data. Photo: Robert Ng

Britain introduced the pathway to citizenship in January 2021 after Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong in June of the previous year.

BN(O) migrants can apply for settled status after five years of qualifying residence, and after one year of settled status, they can apply for citizenship. Visa holders can study in UK public schools for free.

The Post earlier reported that a survey conducted by the UK government showed that education authorities in Birmingham had recorded the largest contingent of Hong Kong nursery and school pupils in the 2022-23 academic year.

The Home Office data provided on November 16 showed that the UK government had issued 147,716 BN(O) visas to Hongkongers between January 2021 and June 2023, of which 10,588 were granted to children aged five and below, 19,280 to those aged six to 11, as well as 10,079 among those aged 12 to 17 and another 3,016 to young adults aged 18 to 22.

The remaining 104,753 were granted to those aged 23 and above.

The data revealed that primary schools in Hong Kong suffered the most significant decrease in the number of pupils across different levels of the education sector, with the figure almost double that of those for logged preschools and secondary schools.

The impact on the tertiary education sector was relatively mild, as only 3,016 visa holders were aged 18 to 22.

The Home Office on Thursday said it had received 190,997 applications for BN(O) visas since the introduction of the bespoke scheme for Hongkongers, of which 97.3 per cent were approved. Of these, 166,022 had arrived in the UK or were already in the country when applying.

“The initial two quarters when this route was first opened saw the highest number of applications; the number of applications has since decreased and has been stable since September 2022 at around 10,000 per quarter,” it said in the quarterly statistics report.

So Ping-fai, the acting chairman of the Subsidised Primary Schools Council, on Friday said the figures indicated that the primary school sector had been hit hard by the emigration wave, as most parents wanted their children to pursue higher education overseas, and the scheme was a way for them to pay lower university fees in the UK.

“Most of the parents leaving in this emigration wave are young parents as they doubt or lack confidence in Hong Kong’s prospects,” he said. “They left mainly because of education, as the city is known to have a more intense study environment.”

So Ping-fai, the acting chairman of the Subsidised Primary Schools Council, says the figures prove that primary schools have been hit hardest by the emigration wave. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

So added that students in Hong Kong performed better in international assessments compared with their counterparts in other places.

He said young parents were also lured to emigrate by the lower university tuition fees, or home fees for locals, which applied after their children had secured permanent residence in the UK.

“They may think that if they lose some money now, they can save more if their children can study at UK universities in the future,” he said.

“They may decide to leave when their children are still in primary schools, particularly the parents who can work in England.”

But he added that it was still too early to tell whether the introduction of a compulsory humanities subject set to launch in September 2025 might prompt more families to leave the city.

Higher education providers in England allocate their students “home” or “international” status for the purpose of charging tuition fees. Undergraduate home fees are currently capped by the government at £9,250 (US$11,651). Overseas fees are set by providers and can be much higher depending on the course and provider.

The Post earlier reported that the Scottish government would extend free university education to cover holders of BN(O) visas in the next academic year, as long as they had been ordinarily resident in the UK for three years and were ordinarily resident in Scotland.