Hong Kong was a colony of the United Kingdom for 153 years until it was handed over to Mainland China in 1997. Before 1997, Hong Kong residents could apply for British National (Overseas) passports and were granted British National (Overseas) status.

There was a wave of mass migration from Hong Kong around 1997. A second wave followed after the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong on 1 July 2020. The BN(O) visa route was introduced by the UK Government in 2021. According to the latest Home Office figures, from the launch of the BN(O) route on 31 January 2021 to 30 June 2025, approximately 166,300 people had arrived in the UK under the BN(O) route.

From 2021 to 2026, the Baptist Union, aware that a large number of Hong Kong families were moving to the UK to make new homes, appointed Sharon Shek and Londy Chan as Hong Kong Response Co-ordinators. Their role was to liaise with Baptist churches in welcoming Hong Kong migrants and offering them hospitality. We continue to support Hong Kongers and the Baptist churches that welcome them through Candy Choy, our volunteer Hong Kong Minister. Candy is supported by WEBnet.

Candy is responsible for:
• supporting Hong Kong church leaders in their ministry in local churches;
• encouraging Baptist churches to be places of welcome for migrants from Hong Kong;
• enabling training and networking, and helping Baptists discern God’s missional activity in the midst of the migrants.

Please feel free to contact Candy at hongkong@webnetwork.org.uk