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Now, there are early signals a new tide of migration could be looming, as concerns rise about civil liberties, living standards and quality of life. Since Beijing in 2014 faced down protesters calling for greater democracy in Hong Kong, the city’s leaders have stifled opposition in the former British colony. For all but the most ardent activists, resistance has come to feel futile.

The actual number leaving is difficult to track because so many residents obtained foreign passports two decades or more ago. But in a survey last year by a local university, a third of respondents—including close to half of college-educated participants and young people aged 18 to 30—said they would emigrate if they got the chance. Of those, 13% had made actual preparations to leave.

Immigration to Canada has doubled over the past decade. Relocation consultants report an uptick in business in the past few years. Dozens of YouTube videos are being circulated by Hong Kong emigrants touting closer, more affordable places to live, such as Malaysia and Taiwan, where migration has also doubled in the past year. Facebook groups on these topics have also proliferated.

“Before 1997 people were worried about the uncertainty before the handover. Now they are leaving because of the certainty,” said Paul Yip, an academic at the University of Hong Kong, who specializes in population studies. He said emigrants are feeling hopeless about an economic boom that has passed many by or frustrated with the city’s changing political climate.

China’s growing presence is everywhere. Bookstores are increasingly not selling tomes that offend China, Chinese companies dominate the city’s stock exchange, and the use of Mandarin is starting to erode the dominance of the local Cantonese language. By one measure, close to a million people from mainland China have moved to the city of 7.4 million since 1997.

In the past two years, authorities ousted some pro-democratic lawmakers from the city’s legislative council on procedural grounds, a political party has been banned for advocating Hong Kong independence, and a Western journalist was effectively expelled after hosting a talk by that party’s leader. Meanwhile, homes have remained unaffordable for most in the city, which has among the world’s most expensive real-estate prices.

This year, Gavin Li flew to the southern U.S. with his wife and two young daughters. After two weeks of sightseeing and family visits, Mr. and Mrs. Li returned to Hong Kong without their girls, 7 and 9 years old, having signed documents giving consent to their children’s adoption. American relatives had committed to legally adopt them at the end of a required six-month residence period.

“Hong Kong is getting worse by the day,” said Mr. Li, who as a teenager in 1994 left mainland China to escape the country’s authoritarian system. “I can remember when Hong Kong was still a special place, not just one of the many cities controlled by Beijing. That’s changed.” CONTINUE AT SITE

The 38-year-old interior designer said he wants his daughters to live where it is possible to imagine a bright future. Mr. Li said it took him two years to convince his wife, a jewelry saleswoman. While they had considered moving as a family, the uncertain application process—his wife doesn’t speak much English—and need to care for their parents in Hong Kong prompted them to send the children instead.

“I’m paying the price for it every day,” said Mr. Li, who typically speaks with his children once a week through a smartphone video app. “I miss holding them in my arms.”

Immigration to the U.S. from Hong Kong has fallen in recent years, as U.S. authorities have tightened rules. But the number of people moving to Canada and Taiwan, though small, is rising, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data.