Moving in the time of COVID-19: how did the pandemic situations affect the migration decisions of Hong Kong people?

ABSTRACT

Following mass social protests in 2019 and the enactment of a national security law in 2020 in Hong Kong, a significant proportion of Hong Kong people considered migrating to another country. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic had spread rapidly around the world. This study examines investigate whether the migration intention and the planned timing of migration of Hong Kong people have changed with the COVID-19 pandemic situations both locally and abroad. We also examine if the impact of the pandemic might have varied with people’s age, gender, education, and parental status. Data are from a random-sampled survey (N = 2,492) conducted in 2021–2022. We find that a more severe COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong is positively associated with one’s migration intention. The migration intention of younger and more educated people is more strongly associated with the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong. However, the COVID-19 situation in the UK is not significantly associated with one’s migration intention. Among people who intend to emigrate, a more severe local COVID-19 situation is positively associated with uncertainty about the timing of migration. We conclude by highlighting the significance of global pandemics in shaping migration decisions.

KEYWORDS:

• Migration
• COVID-19
• Pandemic‌
• Hong Kong
• British National (Overseas)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) is a nationality that the UK government offered to Hong Kong citizens who were born before 1 July 1997, when the sovereignty of Hong Kong was returned to China. BN(O) status holders do not have the right of abode in the UK. The BN(O) status could only be obtained before 1 July 1997 and cannot be passed to one’s spouse or children.

2 The answers from the first two options are collapsed because of the small number of observations in the first category. Only 52 people answered that they planned to migrate within a year.

3 All respondents in the sample hold a BN(O) status but only some hold a valid BN(O) passport. BN(O) is a nationality status. Many BN(O) status holders do not currently hold a BN(O) passport because their passports issued in or before 1997 have already expired or were lost. However, they can renew their passports anytime. BN(O) status holders can apply for the BN(O) visa scheme to emigrate to the UK by using a BN(O) passport or a passport of another nationality.

Additional information

Funding

This study has received financial support from two Oxford University John Fell Fund grants (Awardees: Man-yee Kan).