Former Hong Kong opposition leader granted six-month UK stay after border detention

Former Hong Kong opposition leader Wu Chi-wai has been allowed to remain in the UK for six months after initially being detained at London's Heathrow Airport, according to multiple reports. The decision by the UK Border Force comes after Wu was refused entry and faced deportation, a development that has drawn attention to the treatment of Hong Kong activists under the UK's visa schemes.

Border detention and appeal

Wu, 63, arrived at Heathrow last Wednesday and was detained for nearly 10 hours, during which he was initially refused entry, he told BBC Chinese. He was later informed he could stay for only one week before reporting to the airport for deportation. However, on Monday, the UK Border Force approved his entry and granted him a standard six-month stay, he said.

According to the South China Morning Post, Wu has appealed against an earlier decision granting him only seven days' temporary admission. A source told the newspaper that Wu had written to the British Home Office asking it to reconsider the decision and could potentially seek a judicial review if the appeal is rejected. The source added that a judicial review is a "very cumbersome and expensive process" and would be a "last resort."

Wu's case first came to public attention when The Times reported that he had been denied entry and told he would be deported, citing his friends. Former Hong Kong Bar Association chairman Paul Harris confirmed that Wu had been stopped at Heathrow and told his passport would be confiscated and he would be deported within seven days, according to the report.

Background and family reunion hopes

Wu is the former chairman of the now-defunct Democratic Party and was one of the most recognisable figures in Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement. He was released from a Hong Kong prison in late June after serving four years and five months in a landmark subversion case linked to his role in a 2020 unofficial primary election.

Wu told BBC Chinese that his son and wife moved to the UK in 2022 and 2023, and the only communication he had with them since then was through monthly phone calls and letters. He had hoped to reunite with his family in the UK during his recent visit.

Ahead of his departure, Wu said he had consulted staff at the British Consulate General in Hong Kong, asking if there would be any problems with his entry. "The information I received was that there would be none," he said, adding that consular staff said they would explain his criminal record and itinerary to the UK Border Force. The Border Force said he was not considered a "genuine visitor" who was solely visiting family, he said.

Wu denies that he had intended to apply for political asylum in the UK, a claim previously reported in the media.

Visa scheme and wider context

According to the South China Morning Post, Wu is considering applying for the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) pathway to UK citizenship, rather than seeking asylum, so he can reunite with his family who already live in Britain. The source said immigration officers may have misunderstood the relevant rules when they initially denied him entry.

Under the dedicated BN(O) visa scheme, eligible passport holders from Hong Kong can live, work and study in the UK, with a pathway to full citizenship after five years. Over 230,000 Hong Kongers have been granted BN(O) visas, and nearly 170,000 have already relocated to the UK, according to reports.

The move appears to contrast with the UK's treatment of other Hong Kong activists wanted by police, including former lawmaker Nathan Law Kwun-chung, student activist Tony Chung Hon-lam, and former British consulate staffer Simon Cheng Man-kit, all of whom have been allowed to settle in the country.

Rights group Hong Kong Watch, which had called on UK authorities to allow Wu to stay, welcomed the recent news in a statement, saying, "This is the right outcome, and it should never have taken this long."