Emigration
Most returnees left Hong Kong during the 1980s and the 1990s, after the announcement of the Handover of Hong Kong back to Chinese rule. It is estimated that nearly one-sixth of the population of Hong Kong emigrated between 1984 and 1997. The destination of choice was usually a western country, most popular amongst them were Canada, Australia, and the United States.
There are typically two types of emigrants, those who planned on returning to Hong Kong after they obtained foreign citizenship, and those who planned on staying in their adopted homes permanently and fully adapting to life there. The former are sometimes better described as sojourners rather than emigrants. However, often these two types of Hong Kong emigrants act against what they had planned, where some of those who had planned on permanent stays actually returned to Hong Kong, and sojourners planned on temporary stays actually made the decision to stay permanently in their adopted homelands.
According to Matthew Cheung, Secretary for Labour and Welfare, approximately 0.6 million Hong Kongers emigrated before and around 1997.
Read more about this topic: Hong Kong Returnee