Former Hong Kong opposition leader Wu Chi-wai, who has been granted permission to enter the United Kingdom, will not be deported despite earlier complications in his attempt to settle in the country, the British immigration minister has confirmed.
In a written reply on Thursday to former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten, UK Minister for Migration and Citizenship Jo White stressed that overseas convictions should not lead to the automatic refusal of settlement applications under the British National (Overseas) route.
Wu, former chairman of the now-defunct Democratic Party and an ex-lawmaker, was initially refused entry at London Heathrow Airport earlier this month before being granted temporary admission.
He was released from a Hong Kong prison in late June after serving four years and five months in a landmark subversion case linked to his role in a 2020 unofficial primary election.
It was reported that Wu was considering applying for the BN(O) pathway to UK citizenship to reunite with his family who already live in Britain.
Wu was first only granted seven days’ temporary admission, before he was informed that he could remain as a visitor for six months after public intervention by rights advocates, including Patten, who wrote to the government urging the Home Office to offer guidelines to caseworkers and border security officers on handling cases of those facing “political persecution” to ensure they are not unfairly excluded from the scheme.
In the letter, White said that standard immigration rules regarding criminality and other adverse behaviour also applied to BN(O) applicants, but stressed there was also flexibility.
