In a statement to Parliament today about Hong Kong, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab confirmed a new bespoke UK immigration route for British National (Overseas) citizens and their dependants. BNO status is a previously obscure form of British nationality held by an estimated 2.9 million people in Hong Kong, that until now, did not allow for long-term residence in the UK.
This proposed route should allow eligible BNO citizens to apply for a five-year visa permitting them to live, work and study in the U.K. At the end of the five years, the BNO visa holders will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain. They will further be able to apply for British citizenship after holding indefinite leave to remain status for one year.
BNO status was an entitlement but was not automatic — it had to be acquired by registration. For most people, the final deadline for registration was 1 July 1997, though for some it was extended to 31 December 1997. Therefore, BNO status only belongs to a closed group of people. Anyone who missed the deadline for registration cannot apply retroactively for this type of nationality status, even if they would have been eligible to apply for it at that time. To qualify for BNO status, a person had to be a British Dependent Territories citizen by connection with Hong Kong. Those who did not register for BNO status and had no other nationality or citizenship on 30 June 1997 automatically became British Overseas Citizens on 1 July 1997.
It is important to note that not all Hong Kong nationals who want this status necessarily have it and this status cannot be inherited or passed on. As such, many of the young protestors seen on news reports may have been born after 1997 and, if this is the case, then they will not be able to obtain BNO status.
No actual changes to immigration rules or citizenship legislation have been announced yet. The U.K. government has said that further details of this new immigration route will be released in due course. We cannot predict how long this will likely take to come into effect.
The cost of the visa is yet to be announced. However, considering the fees for visas in the other categories, we suspect that it could be quite costly.
We will keep you posted and up to date in regards to this new immigration route. For press release please go to:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-extend-residence-rights-for-british-nationals-overseas-citizens-in-hong-kong?utm_source=c426ab95-c2cf-4096-8605-2a6e7a061e03&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate