London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 23, 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
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
×