HONG KONG BRITISH NATIONAL (OVERSEAS)
VISA BRIEFING

Applications for the BN(O) Visa opened on 31 January 2021 and as noted above those with this status can apply for a visa to enter the UK for a period of 30 months, with the option to extend this for a further 30 months or 5 years.

There are two routes within the visa, enabling applicants to bring with them any dependent family members, providing they meet the criteria as eligible dependents. This includes a route for

applicants, their partners and dependent children under 18 years of age, and a route

for adult children and their partners and children under 18 years of age, providing all applicants form part of the same household.

Applications for a visa can be made from outside the UK and also within the UK for people with BN(O) status already residing here. It costs £180 to apply for a visa to stay for 30 months or £250 to apply to stay for 5 years. Additional costs include the Immigration Health Surcharge (currently £1,560 for a 30-month visa).

Those with a visa will be able live, work and study in the UK. It does not however require the holder to have a job or job offer though applicants must be able to demonstrate they can support themselves independently/financially in the UK for at least 6 months.

Those who successfully obtain a visa, will be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILtR) after 5 years. After 1 year of possessing ILtR, visa holders can also register to become a British Citizen.

It is important to note, that those with a visa have no recourse to public funds (NRPF). However, recent changes to the Immigration Rules which came into effect in April 2021 mean that the 6 months ‘maintenance requirement’ will not apply to applicants already resident in the UK for more than 3 months and that visa holders will be able to apply to remove the NRPF condition from their leave should they become destitute or be at ‘imminent risk of destitution’.

There is no English Language requirement. There is a requirement to have undertaken a Tuberculosis test. This can be done at designated test sites prior to coming to the UK but can also be done in the UK for those applying from within the country.

• There is little clarity about the numbers who may apply for and secure a visa and where they might settle in the UK. Government is conducting small scale research with people using the BN(O) route to better understand their decision making and needs. Local Resilience Forums in England have been working with MHCLG’s Resilience and Recovery Directorate (RED) regarding local contingency plans relating to new BN(O) arrivals.
• It is presumed that most will gravitate to larger cities; where they have relatives nearby and or there is an established Hong Kong community of origination.
• Political developments and decisions in the China/Hong Kong region could either escalate the rate and timing of potential arrivals or vice versa.
• There is also a presumption that those who apply will be highly skilled and educated and some may already have a high level of English – though this may not equate to the qualification/entry levels required in the UK.
• Some interpreting and translation services will still be required especially in relation to complex and specialist matters.
• The risk of destitution in amongst all the other pressures currently impinging on local authorities will need to be carefully considered and perhaps especially how it relates to children and their needs plus dependant adults.
• Finding affordable accommodation and employment will be a challenge and perhaps even more so after the first 6 months.
• Risks in relation to the potential for exploitation/modern slavery need to be carefully considered.
• Should those who have visas become destitute, they can apply for the NRPF to be lifted. It is likely this will require OISC-regulated legal advice but will not come under the scope of legal aid in a region where availability of both have been described as a ‘desert’.
• Newly announced funding for local authorities and the VCSE should provide some mitigation in relation to issues connected to destitution and issues such as homelessness and social services intervention to protect children/vulnerable adults.
• Arrivals will present another pressure on the housing market, school places and health services in the locations where they chose to settle.
• Community cohesion and integration factors will need sensitive and appropriate place-based attention both in relation to well-established Chinese/Hong Kong communities and other factions of local communities.
• In addition to the BN(O) route, there is a possibility that those who feel they are at risk of persecution in their country of origin seek out protection status in the UK via other routes which may compound the competing pressures at local level re current immigration priorities.
• Welcoming those from Hong Kong will bring a rewarding diversity of culture and contribution to local communities and potentially to the economy as a whole.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced that government funded programme would be available in 2022/23 to support new arrivals through the Hong Kong UK Welcome Programme. This includes:

Local Authorities:

• Over £30m for local authorities to support with destitution (up to £2,720 per household) including housing costs and translation, plus access to ESOL provision (up to £850 per head) – note that BN(O) status holders can only access ESOL courses funded through the Adult Education Budget when they have lived in the UK for 3 years.
• Funding will be retrospective and quarterly, based on per capita costs to allow for planning based on support per individual rather than in predicted settlement patterns.
• Eligibility criteria for local authorities will be announced shortly, and some reporting will be required.

Voluntary and community sector:

• Grant monies to assist with things such as employment access, mental health and well being projects and initiatives to build community cohesion.

Welcome hubs:

• 12 to be established across the UK coordinated by Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMPs) whose remit will include sharing resources (e.g. translated welcome packs; helplines and websites; triaging requests for support; assisting with joint commissioning between areas; tackling hate crime with partners; and bespoke VCSE (voluntary, community and social enterprise) sector support to new arrivals settling in and accessing services.

Although available funds are limited, it is hoped this will enable local authorities and community organisations respond to the needs of this new group of arrivals ensuring a smooth and successful integration process that results in benefits to the individuals and the receiving communities by maximising the potential of the group as well as preventing crises.

You can contact your local authority for details of how to access ESOL or destitution support.

Guidance – Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Visa Applications. Home Office. 22 October 2020.

Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Visa – Research Briefing. House of Commons Research Library. 15 January 2021.

Hong Kong UK Welcome Programme. MHCLG. 8 April 2021.

Media Factsheet – Hong Kong British National (Overseas). Home Office. 29 May 2020.

Policy Statement – Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Visa. Home Office. 22 July 2020.

Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules: HC1248. Home Office. 4 March 2021.6

The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Visa. Free Movement. 28 October 2020.