British Consulate apologises for visa delays affecting Hong Kong students

The British consulate has apologised for visa delays, as Hong Kong students collecting their documents on Wednesday blamed poor communication from UK immigration for a stressful and costly start to the new academic term.

Meanwhile, a UK education consultant on Wednesday said the processing glitch stemmed from a “scanning problem” with a new passport system used in Hong Kong where local applications were being processed. UK officials did not confirm the cause.

In a statement, the British consulate apologised “for any inconvenience caused by these delays”. It added that it did not handle the visas themselves but was “in constant contact with the relevant authority, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), and have been assured that they are looking into individuals’ cases as a matter of urgency”.

Education lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen received 1075 complaints about visa delays involving local students intending to enrol in the UK as of Wednesday afternoon, among them 150 reported they have finally received their documents. Ip expressed fears that flights to UK might be overloaded in the coming two weeks with more students gaining their visas, and he urged the government to provide help.