Latest news with #HongKongStudents
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong students still unable to get US visa bookings: consultancy firms
Hong Kong tertiary students looking to study in the United States remain unable to secure visa appointments with the country's local consulate, despite bookings becoming available in Beijing and other jurisdictions. Three education consultancies contacted by the Post said that they still could not book appointment slots for their clients as of Monday morning, further fuelling confusion among students amid Washington's sudden policy shifts in recent days. Samuel Chan Sze-ming, managing partner at Britannia StudyLink, a company specialising in placements at elite schools, said that he remained unable to secure visa appointments at the US consulate in Hong Kong on Monday. But other centres he operated in Thailand and Vietnam were able to make the bookings with the respective diplomatic missions in those countries, Chan said. Kitty Wu, director of Hong Kong-based Litz USA Student Service, also said that she had been trying to make bookings for her clients with the local consulate since last Thursday without success. Will Kwong, managing director of consultancy AAS Education, said that one of his colleagues had been able to schedule an appointment for a mainland Chinese student through the US embassy in Beijing. 'It seems appointment slots are unstable,' Kwong said. 'Some can access it while others can't.'
South China Morning Post
24-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Number of Hong Kong students attending British independent schools drops by 6%
The number of Hong Kong students attending independent schools in the United Kingdom has fallen by 6 per cent, the biggest decline witnessed in recent years, according to an annual census by the sector. Advertisement This coincided with the Labour government's introduction of a 20 per cent value-added tax (VAT) on school fees in January. An education consultant who specialises in assisting Hong Kong students with enrolment in British independent schools said the new tax deterred some parents, despite most private schools absorbing some of the increase by raising fees by only about 12 per cent. According to an annual census conducted by the UK's Independent School Council, mainland China and Hong Kong remain the largest and second-largest markets, respectively, for international students in British independent schools this academic year. However, the number of students from Hong Kong dropped this year. Advertisement The census, the first survey since the VAT was introduced, was carried out in January this year and covered 1,423 schools, 12 more than last year.
