A number of students from Hong Kong who have experienced delays trying to get a UK visa have received their documents, according to the office of education’s Ip Kin-yuen.
At least 680 students have reported problems to Hong Kong’s British visa application centre, which began to distribute visas in order to reduce the disruption.
According to Ip, one particular student lost their place at university after applying for a priority visa on 1st August, which should take up to five days, and not receiving it until after their course had begun, effectively nullifying their place.
Meanwhile, another student faces the same problem if they fail to receive their UK visa before registration is completed on 6th September.
In order to address the issue, Ip stated he has been in communication with the British consulate, which he stated was “highly concerned” and had agreed to deliver information on the affected students to regional UK visa centres to push for faster processing.
Pledging to tackle the issue, chief executive Carrie Lam announced that Britain’s top diplomat in Hong Kong have promised to speed up the processing and provide explanations and apologies to students who risk losing their places.
According to data, the affected students range from pupils applying to secondary schools to undergraduate students to postgraduate students hoping for places at British universities. As a result of the delays, many students and parents have been forced to alter their flight plans.