A delay in the United Kingdom’s student visa processing system has left more than 150 Hong Kong students in fear they could lose their place in UK schools if they’re not able to travel in time, with some parents saying they’ve already been forced to cancel flights.
Those fears were put into focus yesterday by Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung during a meeting with British Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau Andrew Heyn.
Cheung urged Heyn to liaise closely with the UK Home Office to speed up the visa application process for Hong Kong students as a matter of urgency, the government said in a statement released yesterday. In response, Heyn pledged that the British government would do its best to resolve the problem as soon as possible.
The UK visa application process usually takes up to five working days. However, recently, during the busiest period of the year, visa applicants have been asked to wait for weeks until they can collect the necessary travel documents.
One parent, surnamed Wong, told SCMP she had planned to accompany her son to the UK to begin his studies this Sunday, but had been forced to cancel their flight tickets and hotel reservations due to the unexpected delay.
As of 4pm yesterday, education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen had received nearly 800 complaints from students and parents, Apple Daily reports. Among those complainants were at least 155 students who said they were scheduled to depart for the UK within the week or see their school places revoked or graduations postponed. Ip said he had referred all the complaints to the UK Consulate, which declined to reveal the number of affected students.
The UK Home Office released a statement on Monday, saying the government remains committed to delivering an excellent service for visa customers in Hong Kong. However, during the peak season, and “in a small number of cases in recent weeks, it has not been possible to do so within the usual timescales”.
