Anilesh, a PhD researcher in Hong Kong has been eagerly waiting for his wife and 18-month-old son to join him there from India. His wife is fully vaccinated with Covishield, and since the Astrazeneca vaccine is recognised by the Hong Kong government, you would expect that it wouldn’t be much of a challenge for the family to be reunited. But that is not the case as several hurdles stand in the way for Anilesh and his family, and hundreds of Indians who are trying to come back to Hong Kong.
For one, Hong Kong has placed India in the high-risk countries category or ‘Group A’. “For persons arriving at Hong Kong who had stayed in high-risk Group A specified places, they must hold recognised vaccination records (Note) so as to be regarded as fulfilling the relevant requirements,” the Hong Kong government has said. Those who are fully vaccinated will have to undergo mandatory quarantine of 21 days in Hong Kong as well, and must show proof of their booking at one of the pre-designated quarantine hotels in Hong Kong for not less than 21 days before boarding the flight.
However, if you are an Indian who is a Hong Kong resident, and have completed your Covishield dose in India, you will still not be eligible for direct entry – because Hong Kong only recognises vaccination records from countries specified in the World Health Organisation’s SRA list. WHO’s list of Stringent Regulatory Authorities (SRAs) consists of 36 countries, of which India is not a part. Therefore, even though the Astrazeneca vaccine is recognised by Hong Kong, people who have gotten their Covishield shots in India will not be eligible for direct entry into Hong Kong.
Due to these regulations, residents of Hong Kong who are Indians have to undergo a 21-day “washout” period in a country other than India and one that is not in group A of Hong Kong’s list, before they board their flight to Hong Kong, despite being vaccinated. “Hundreds of Indians have had to go to another country, stay there for three weeks, spend money, and then again do a 21-day quarantine in a hotel in Hong Kong. My wife and child are stuck in India because of this,” Anilesh tells TNM.
A common route that many Indians had been taking is to do 14 days of washout in Maldives, and then seven days in Dubai, as there aren’t direct flights to Hong Kong from Maldives. This is what Sumanth*, a trader in the garment industry, did. The permanent resident of Hong Kong had to come to India for his mother’s surgery in Chennai in March this year. While he wanted to get back to Hong Kong at the earliest, the deadly second wave of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown in India meant that his plans had to be postponed.
Speaking to TNM on August 24 from Hong Kong, on the third day of his mandatory quarantine, Sumanth narrates that he had also planned to take the Maldives-Dubai route. However, the Hong Kong government made another change in their policy – from August 20, they placed UAE in the group A category of high-risk countries.
“I was supposed to go to Dubai, but since it would now come under high-risk category, I would have had to complete a 21-day washout period again, somewhere else. I was somehow able to get a business class seat on a flight that transit in Doha, as Qatar is not in Hong Kong’s group A category. But not everyone can spend on business class tickets. There are so many Indians who are now stranded in Dubai, having spent thousands to complete the washout period. Now, they will have to figure out another route, and maybe even another washout period,” Sumanth tells TNM.
One such person who is stranded in Dubai is Priyanka Lunia Bordia and her family of six. Her husband, two toddlers, and two helpers finished their washout period on August 19, and Hong Kong’s policy of putting UAE in group A came into effect on August 20 – the same day they were supposed to board their flight to Hong Kong. Due to the changes in policy, Priyanka’s family has also had to re-apply for the visa of one of the helpers traveling with them, as her visa for entering Hong Kong expired on August 23.
“It is extremely frustrating,” Priyanka says. “We have to figure out where else to go now in order to enter Hong Kong and again do a washout period. Why couldn’t the Hong Kong government have given at least 10-12 days’ notice before the new policy came into effect so people like us could plan the next course of action better?”
Anilesh says that the Hong Kong government recognising Covishield as a vaccine, but not if it is administered in India is a “clear slap” on the Indian authorities and shows lack of trust. He and the others TNM spoke to also question why the Indian government has not done anything about the issue so far, given it is in the public domain and affects hundreds of Indians. “People have written open letters to the immigration departments; I myself have been writing to the Health Department here. So it is not that they do not know,” Anilesh says.
Sumanth says that the experience has been very alienating for the Indian diaspora in Hong Kong. His business has already suffered because he was stranded in India due to the lockdown due to the second wave, delaying his return to Hong Kong. “We have been living in Hong Kong for decades, and contribute to their economy. I am even a permanent resident of Hong Kong and still to be put through this… I felt it was really unfair,” he says.
Priyanka too has written to the Hong Kong Department of Health, but hasn’t received a fruitful response. She and Anilesh point out that apart from vaccines administered in SRA countries, the Hong Kong government also recognises vaccination records if from “an authority or recognised institution of a country with bilateral vaccination record recognition agreement with Hong Kong.”
“Not to bash my country, but where is your vaccine diplomacy at a time when hundreds and thousands of citizens are struggling so much? A bilateral agreement or understanding with Hong Kong would ease this process so much,” Anilesh argues.
Sumanth also urges the Indian government to get the homegrown Covaxin on WHO’s list of approved vaccines. Further, Priyanka’s appeal to the Indian government is to get India on the WHO’s SRA list. In a response received by Priyanka from the Consulate General of India’s (CGI) office in Hong Kong, the authorities acknowledged the plight of hundreds of Indians trying to come back to Hong Kong. The response said that as of August 17, CGI has taken up the matter with the Hong Kong government to “have an arrangement put in place for recognition by HKSAR Government of vaccination records issued by Indian authorities” and was awaiting their response.
*Name changed