Call to sign letter to the UK Secretary of State for Education on Home Fee status for BNOs
It is the summer holidays in the UK, and many 18-year-olds will be looking forward to starting university in the autumn. However, this will not include thousands of young British National (Overseas) Hong Kongers who, as it currently stands, are priced out of higher education by the exorbitant cost of international tuition fees.
Today, Hong Kong Watch is publishing and circulating a letter to the new Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson MP, which calls on the Minister to meet with affected young Hong Kongers, as well as Hong Kong Watch, to discuss our request for the UK government to grant Home Fee status to BNO visa holders after three years’ residency. You can read our full report on tuition fees for Hong Kongers here.
We are calling on BNO visa holders to sign our letter and to contact their local MPs in support of the academic dreams of these young Hong Kongers. Your support is sincerely appreciated.
If you would like to sign the letter, please CLICK HERE.
If you would like to email your local MP and encourage them to sign on, please follow these steps:
Download this template.
Fill in your name, postcode and other relevant details in the blanks, highlighted in red.
Email your local MP and copy info@hongkongwatch.org.
You can find your local MP and their contact information here.
Your voice as a local constituent will help push forward our BNO campaigns.
呼籲簽署致教育大臣有關BNO本地生學費資格的信函
英國正值暑假，許多18歲的年輕人紛紛開始期待秋天展開大學生活。然而，數千名BNO年輕人仍然因為高昂的國際生學費而無法接受高等教育。
今天，香港監察發表一封致新任教育大臣方佩芝議員的信函，呼籲教育部與受影響的香港年輕人及香港監察團隊會面，討論容許BNO簽證持有人居滿三年後獲得本地生學費資格。你可以在此閱讀有關簡報。
我們呼籲英國各地的BNO港人簽署這封信函，並聯絡你的國會議員，支持這些年輕港人的學術夢想。我們衷心感謝你的支持。
如欲簽署此函，請按這裏。
如欲向你的國會議員發送電郵並鼓勵他們簽署和支持，請按照以下步驟：
下載此電郵範本。
在紅色的空白處填寫你的姓名、郵政編碼和其他相關資料。
電郵你的國會議員並抄送副本至info@hongkongwatch.org。
你可在這裏搜尋你的國會議員及他們的聯絡方法。
身為地方選民，你的聲音有助推動我們的BNO倡議工作。
— Start of letter to Secretary of State for Education 致教育大臣信函開端—
To Rt Hon Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson MP,
We, the undersigned, are writing to request a meeting in person between you and members of the Hong Kong community to express our requests for BNO visa holding students: a) follow the example of the Scottish government in reducing the residency requirement for Home Fee status from 5 to 3 years for BNO visa holders; b) as a reserve alternative, grant BNO visa holders access to student finance options.
These requests were published in a briefing paper by civil society organisation Hong Kong Watch, entitled Tuition Fees for BNO visa holders: the case for home fee status, accessible online.
BNO Hong Konger families currently face paying exceedingly high international fees to allow their children to attend UK universities, at the same time as resetting their careers in a new country. It is simply unaffordable and unfair for most to pay up to £50,000 per year for tuition fees, especially when almost all residents from British overseas territories have been eligible for Home fee status since 2007. Without Home Fee status, a generation of bright young Hong Kongers will continue to be priced out of their dreams of studying medicine, computer science and engineering – the skills that we desperately need.
The situation of BNO Hong Kongers is not comparable to the typical international student. These are families who, fleeing political repression in Hong Kong, have chosen to make the UK their home. We should not senselessly punish their children by making them wait up to five years to attend university and start their lives.
By adopting this policy, many BNO children will be able to access higher education and start contributing, economically and otherwise, to UK society. This policy change would stand as a clear demonstration that Labour is genuinely committed to supporting all children to achieve and thrive in their education goals.
We hope that you will be willing to meet with affected members of the Hong Kong community, as well as the Hong Kong Watch team, to discuss this issue and the policy changes listed above.
This letter has also received the endorsement of the MPs listed below.
(names to be added)
— End of letter 信函結束—