London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Australia opens door to Hongkongers with permanent residency scheme

Australia opens door to Hongkongers with permanent residency scheme

Hong Kong or BN(O) passport holders and family members can get residency in Australia in three years after meeting certain requirements.

Hongkongers who have studied or worked in Australia will be allowed to apply for permanent residency from as early as March 5 next year after the country revealed details of a promised “safe haven”.

Hong Kong or British National (Overseas) passport holders and their family members can get residency in Australia in three years after meeting certain requirements, under amendments to migration regulations dated October 28.

Immigration consultants and concern groups described the eligibility threshold as “low”.

In what Australia earlier called a safe-haven offer, Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised a pathway to permanent residency shortly after Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong in June last year. The legislation outlaws secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.


Britain in July last year offered a pathway to citizenship while Canada put in place a similar scheme in November.

Various options are available under Australia’s Migration Legislation Amendment (Hong Kong) Regulations.

Hong Kong or BN(O) passport holders who have studied or worked there for at least four years, and meet health, character and security requirements, are eligible to apply for a skilled independent visa.

The primary applicant must pay A$4,115 (US$3,095) as a first instalment and A$4,885 for the second before a visa is granted. It will cost A$2,055 for an extra adult applicant and A$1,030 for one aged below 18 years. So the cost for a family of two adults and a child works out at about HK$78,000 (US$10,000).

The charges are simpler than for the British scheme, under which BN(O) status holders are charged visa fees plus health insurance with prices varying according to duration of coverage. Still, 64,900 Hongkongers had applied for British citizenship as of August.

Another stream offered by the Australian government is through a permanent residence (skilled regional) visa, for those who have worked or studied in a regional area for three years and meet health, character and security requirements.

Australia said it had provided more streamlined pathways to permanent residency for both Hong Kong and BN(O) passport holders compared with citizens of other countries, but the differential treatment would not amount to prohibited discrimination on grounds of nationality.

“That is because it addresses the public, social and international concern with the imposition of the national security law in Hong Kong, whilst maximising the benefits of skilled and temporary graduate entrants to the Australian economy by attracting highly skilled Hong Kong and BN(O) passport holders who are looking to leave Hong Kong or remain in Australia following the imposition of the national security law,” the paper said.

Immigration consultant Benny Cheung Ka-hei said the Australian scheme was similar to Canada’s and aimed to attract young talent and skilled workers as the population was ageing.

“It is obvious that the country hopes to roll out a more competitive immigration policy to attract Hongkongers,” said Cheung, director of Goldmax Immigration Consulting. “This move will also benefit Australia itself as it takes advantage of the confidence crisis in Hong Kong to attract high-quality young talent to fill the development gap.”

However, he said the BN(O) visa scheme was the most attractive.

“As long as you hold a BN(O) passport, you are eligible,” he said. “You don’t need to study a degree course there and you can also bring along family members such as parents and children.”

The national security law came into force last year.


Jane Poon, spokeswoman of Australia-Hong Kong Link, a concern group supporting the city’s protest movement, said the easier access to permanent residency was good news for those seeking to emigrate.

“The eligibility threshold has become very low. It’s almost unconditional,” she said. “As long as you have obtained a student visa, rest assured you can stay in Australia for as long as you like. Your student visa also entitles you to bring along your family members to Australia.”

Wong Mei-mi, 34, a Hongkonger who worked as a welfare services officer before moving to Melbourne to study for a diploma course in hospitality, said she was delighted to hear about the scheme.

Having taken part in protests in Hong Kong, she was worried about returning to her home city.

“Now this is good news to me. I will definitely apply for permanent residency here,” she said. “I can relax and plan my future here in Australia without worrying over being forced to return to Hong Kong.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×