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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Rajeev Syal Home affairs editor

UK expands Hong Kong visa scheme in wake of Jimmy Lai’s prison sentence

Jimmy Lai Hong Kong United Kingdom Home Office Prison Hongkongers
Jimmy Lai leaves the court of final appeal by prison van in Hong Kong
Jimmy Lai leaves the court of final appeal by prison van in Hong Kong in February 2021. His sentence was described as ‘heartbreakingly cruel’. Photograph: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

Ministers have opened up visas to thousands more people from Hong Kong in the wake of the 20-year prison sentence handed down to the pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai.

Adult children of British national (overseas) status holders who were under 18 at the time of Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China will be eligible to apply for the route independently of their parents, a Home Office spokesperson told the Guardian on Monday.

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