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Hong KongSociety

Bumpy landing: Hong Kong migrants face culture shock in Britain, seek help for isolation, depression, marriage breakdown

  • Mental health woes linked to homesickness, language and cultural barriers, anxiety over future
  • Older migrants miss familiarity of their Hong Kong estates, company of friends and yum cha

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A woman walks across Westminster Bridge in London. Between January 31 and the end of June, about 64,900 Hongkongers applied to live in Britain under the BN(O) scheme, according to official figures. Photo: Reuters
Laura Westbrook

Henry* arrived at London’s Heathrow airport on a cold winter’s morning in January to claim asylum, expecting everything to go smoothly as the British government was aware of the political situation in Hong Kong.

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Instead, immigration staff detained the 24-year-old Hongkonger for 48 hours to verify his claims, and warned that he could be sent back.

He had fled Hong Kong fearing he would be charged with taking part in the 2019 anti-government protests and holding up a banner calling for the city’s independence during a protest on July 1 last year, the day after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law.

He agonised over leaving his mother, and told her he was going to Taiwan to continue his studies.

Henry attends a protest in Britain on the anniversary of the August 2019 Prince Edward station attack. He says he suffered from depression when he first arrived in the UK. Photo: Handout
Henry attends a protest in Britain on the anniversary of the August 2019 Prince Edward station attack. He says he suffered from depression when he first arrived in the UK. Photo: Handout
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He recalls crying in the detention room, feeling confused and disappointed. After his release, he moved in with a friend, her husband and two young sons, Hongkongers who immigrated under the British National (Overseas) visa scheme.

Traumatised by his immigration experience and memories of the protests, he was miserable for weeks. He had trouble sleeping and stayed indoors most of the time. Sometimes, tears rolled down his cheeks as he sat with his friend’s children on the sofa.

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