MPF letter template for Hong Kongers to use to write to their Member of Parliament

[Insert date]
[Insert name of MP]
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

Dear [Insert name of MP],

Congratulations on being [elected/re-elected] as the Member of Parliament for [insert constituency name], where I have lived for [number of] years.

As a British National (Overseas) Hong Konger, I am writing to raise my concern and ask for your assistance regarding retaliatory action the People’s Republic of China and the Hong Kong government have taken against BNO visa holders, who have been denied access to over £3 billion worth of their retirement savings since moving to the UK.

As you may be aware, in retaliation to the UK launching the BNO visa scheme in January 2021, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that it would no longer recognise the BNO passport as a valid identity document. This declaration continues to block Hong Kongers with BNO passports from accessing their Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), a compulsory personal retirement savings scheme for the people of Hong Kong, which usually can be withdrawn early if an individual can prove they have permanently left Hong Kong.

In May 2024, Hong Kong Watch published research revealing that British trustees of Hong Kong’s MPF scheme, including HSBC and Standard Chartered, are among the trustees withholding over £3 billion in retirement savings from BNO Hong Kongers. Specifically, HSBC oversees five MPF schemes and manages approximately 30 percent of the total MPF market, with assets totalling HK$329 billion (£33 billion).

As my new representative in Parliament, would you please make representations to His Majesty’s Treasury to provide a formalised commitment to apply for British citizenship on my behalf to present to my MPF provider, [insert MPF provider], since they have denied my request for early MPF withdrawal?

With this clarification, I hope that I will be able to withdraw my MPF savings to establish a strong foundation for my family and I as we integrate into Britain. Thank you in advance for your kind attention to this matter.

Yours sincerely,