The political unrest has reportedly prompted a rising demand for the visas.

High net worth Hong Kong citizens are reportedly rushing to apply for UK “golden visas” as a safe haven amid the jurisdiction’s political unrest. It has suffered from mass protests since June - prompted by a now-cancelled extradition bill. The weakness of sterling, hit by Brexit uncertainties, is also fuelling demand because UK assets have become much cheaper.

Hong Kong citizens accounted for 10 per cent of all applications for the UK’s “Tier One” investor visa in the second quarter of 2019, twice as many as the first quarter, The South China Post reported. Mainland Chinese still represented the largest applicant group at 45 per cent, the report said.

These visas can be obtained if a person invests at least £2 million ($2.5 million) in UK companies. The visa gives selected foreigners the right to stay in the UK for three years and four months, with the option to extend for another two years. After that, they can remain and apply for a UK passport as a citizen a year later.

The report said that Portugal’s visa programme has also been “swamped” by applications.

WealthBriefingAsia has noted in recent years that there is, on the face of it, a seeming contradiction between the strength of the Chinese economy – as it is presented in official data and press reports – and the pattern of HNW Chinese individuals applying for foreign passports and residency programmes, aka “golden visas”.