Hong Kong migrant's struggle to find home in Solihull

A woman who has left Hong Kong for the UK due to concerns over freedoms has spoken about struggles to find housing.

The UK recently introduced a visa giving Hong Kong residents the right to come and live in the UK and eventually become citizens.

Eunice Wun, who moved to Solihull, said leaving Hong Kong behind meant she had no employment records and was unable to have a credit check.

Buying and renting in Hong Kong is very different to the UK, she said.

Ms Wun, who moved with her husband and child in June, was ultimately able to buy her own house and moved in this month. 

She said the most difficult part was having no records in the UK.

'Very tense'

"We do not have any employment history, we do not have any bank accounts here.

"So they [lenders] cannot have any reference track of ourselves or myself or my husband because we do not study here, [did] not live here before, we don't have any address proof and any address history, so it's quite difficult.

"Because we have no employment record, no job history, no credit check can be done because we didn't work here."

Since a new national security law was passed, which makes it easier to punish protesters and reduces Hong Kong's autonomy, more than 47,000 people from the former British colony have been granted the new visa.

Critics of the Chinese government say the law effectively curtails protest and freedom of speech, while China has said it will return stability.

The UK government introduced the new visa in January as it believes China is undermining Hong Kong's rights and freedoms.

It is estimated about 300,000 people will take up the offer over the next five years.

Ms Wun said the atmosphere in Hong Kong was "very tense".

"We cannot talk freely in the office, in the schools, on the street and even in the social media we cannot express our feelings," she said.

"We decided to leave because of the freedom. We like to have more freedom."

Estate agent DM & Co Homes, in Solihull, said it had found the major issues with people coming from Hong Kong were language barriers and the fact the buying and rental process was different.

Director Dominic Murphy said: "We set up a company to deal with this and to make that much more efficient.

"We've got Cantonese-speaking staff and we've found that since doing this, deals have been much easier to get through and have progressed very nicely."

A director at sister company DM Property Match, Vivienne Wong, arrived in the UK from Hong Kong last year and spent months living in Airbnbs.

In Hong Kong there was no mortgage broker requirement for would-be buyers and people went to a bank, got a loan and bought a house, she said.

A UK government spokesperson said it had supported thousands of Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) status holders to settle successfully.

They added: "Our welcome programme supports BN(O) status holders and their family members to find homes, work and education in the UK, including over £30m for English lessons and further support to integrate into their new communities."

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