Ex-Hong Kong opposition leader granted 6-month UK stay
Wu Chi-wai considering BN(O) visa after UK authorities reverse order limiting his stay to seven days
Former Hong Kong opposition leader Wu Chi-wai has been granted permission to enter and remain in Britain as a visitor for six months, after UK authorities reversed an earlier decision requiring him to leave the country by Wednesday, the South China Morning Post has learned.
Paul Harris, Wu’s lawyer, said immigration authorities had informed his legal team in writing that the former chairman of the now-defunct Democratic Party could remain as a visitor for six months.
“This is what should have happened last Wednesday when he arrived,” Harris told Agence France-Presse.
The decision came after Wu’s representatives wrote to the British Home Office asking it to reconsider the seven-day limit.
“A letter has been sent to the Home Office telling them they have made a mistake and asking them to reconsider [the decision],” a source said earlier on Monday, before the six-month permission was granted.
“Where there are good grounds for thinking that the Home Office has got the law wrong, it is possible to bring a judicial review. But that is a very cumbersome and expensive process. So that is something of last resort.”