London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

Hongkongers stuck in Britain just want to know when they can come home

Hongkongers stuck in Britain just want to know when they can come home

Immigration Department says it has received about 840 requests for help, but authorities feel strict measures are needed to prevent import of virus variants.

Hundreds of depressed Hongkongers in Britain have urged the government to arrange special flights for them to return home after being stranded there for two months.

People the Post spoke to said they felt ignored by authorities in their home city after a flight ban was introduced on December 22 following an especially transmissible strain of coronavirus sweeping London and the country’s southeast.

Hong Kong also extended a ban on flights from Brazil, Ireland and South Africa, where the new strain reportedly first emerged.

The Immigration Department said it had received about 840 inquiries and requests for help from Hongkongers so far, and would continue to maintain contact with residents.

“[Those who are stranded in England] really want the Hong Kong government to do something … Some people are depressed,” said Hong Kong district councillor Anthony Sheik Bux, who will return to the city this week.

He said many people had been struggling financially, and their work had been affected.

“One man calls me every day and he cries,” Bux said. “He is in a really stressful condition.”

Bux went to Liverpool in early December to visit his wife and two sons, all of whom are British.

He told the Post he planned to return to Hong Kong by flying to another country and spending three weeks there, before coming in.

Hong Kong requires all arrivals to spend 21 days in quarantine at designated hotels. Anyone who has been in countries under the list of banned places for 21 days before the day of travel is not allowed to enter.

But Bux said for many of those wanting to return, including pregnant women, the elderly, or families with children, it was not possible for them to travel through a third country.

Retired professor Chung Siu-leung, who is in Hong Kong, said his wife, who went to England to visit their 30-year-old daughter in December, was still stranded there.

Siu said he was concerned about the risks and costs involved in his wife, 55, having to travel through a third country, and added her publishing business was also being affected.

While he was helping her run it in the meantime, Siu said it had been “quite chaotic because she cannot come back”.

“They are Hong Kong residents,” he said. “They have the right of abode. At least the government could arrange a charter flight for residents to come back.”

Sonia Man (left) with her sister Vivianne.


Sonia Man Yui-nam, 27, who works as a video editor in London, decided to come home because her 26-year-old sister, Vivianne, was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis in the first week of February, and remains in the intensive care unit at Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in Hong Kong.

“It happened really suddenly. In five days she developed a critical condition. Her heartbeat stopped for six minutes, and she is now in a coma. I had to come back to Hong Kong as soon as possible,” she said.

Man called the Immigration Department and the Department of Health to see whether they would make an exception and allow her to come to Hong Kong directly.

Instead, an officer at the immigration centre said the government was not encouraging people to come back, and asked her to remain in Britain.

“I was quite angry, because I told them about my situation and my sister is in hospital but they asked me to stay, which is just not possible,” she said.

Returning via Dubai, Man will fly back to Hong Kong on March 3, where she will have to quarantine in a hotel for a further three weeks.

“Including the flight, it is 43 days. It is a really long journey and my sister is in a critical condition. It is really tough for me to wait that long to see her,” she said.

Callan Anderson, who runs a corporate services firm and has been in Britain since December after returning home to visit his mother, said the government should give people an idea of when the ban might be lifted.

“I think there is a point where you need to give people an idea when you’ll review this ban so people in the UK can return home,” he said.

The government said while it recognised the measures were “very stringent” and affected the return journeys of residents, they were necessary to protect the community by guarding against the importation of new virus variants.

A government spokesman said officials would continue to monitor the situation closely and adjust the boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements for people arriving in Hong Kong from other high-risk places when necessary.

On February 18, authorities announced the easing of tough social-distancing measures introduced at the start of the city’s fourth wave of infections in November. The dine-in ban after 6pm for restaurants has been lifted, and eateries can operate till 10pm. The cap on the number of diners per table has been eased from two to four.

As of Sunday, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the city was 11,005, with 199 related deaths.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×