Since China imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong, a lot of dinner party chatter in this protest-minded city has been about personal exit strategies. For up to three million Hongkongers, the exit could come in the form of a British National (Overseas) passport. Will they really leave – and what of those left behind?

Michael and Serena have decided to leave Hong Kong for good and settle in the UK, a country they have never set foot in.

The couple have British National (Overseas) – or BNO – passports, which were issued to Hong Kong residents that registered before the city was handed back to China on July 1997.

Essentially a travel document with rights for some consular assistance, its usefulness seemed limited to many for anything but easier access to the UK and European travel. Some people went for it anyway. Why not, went the thinking for many Hongkongers.

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Hong Kong was engulfed by increasingly violent protests last year

Michael and Serena are the embodiment of the comfortable prosperity common in Hong Kong: well-travelled with a 13-year-old daughter, they are both middle managers in a bank and bought a flat many years ago. It is a lot to give up.

They say that Hong Kong has become unrecognisable in its handling of the months-long protests triggered by a bill which proposed to allow extradition to mainland China. What the couple saw was a government which did not listen to the people, and police force that showed little restraint.

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Their daughter has been deeply affected by the protests, even though the family did not take part because the couple work at a Chinese bank, where an employee was fired for protesting.

“She has been very angry and upset. She kept asking why the authorities could treat us like that?” Serena said, adding that their daughter had told them she wanted to study abroad.

The controversial national security law, which took effect last week, was the last straw.

“The articles of the national security law are outrageous,” said Michael. Serena said she did not believe Beijing’s claims that the claim that law would only target “a tiny number of people”.