Hongkongers who were minors at the time of the handover to China in 1997 will be eligible to apply for the British National (Overseas) pathway to UK citizenship independently of their parents, with 26,000 arrivals expected under the expanded scheme in the next five years.
The move was a response to the 20-year prison sentence handed to former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying for convictions of national security-related charges in the city on Monday morning.
In a statement on Monday, the Home Office, Britain’s interior ministry, said the expansion of the scheme “honours the UK’s historic commitment to the people of Hong Kong” following the “continuing deterioration of rights and freedoms” in the former British colony.
“Adult children of [BN(O)] status holders who were under 18 at the time of Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China will now be eligible to apply for the route independently of their parents,” the statement said.
“Their partners and children will also be able to move to the UK under the expanded route,” the Home Office statement read, adding that it expected 26,000 people to arrive in the UK over the next five years.
In a reply to the South China Morning Post, a Home Office communication officer confirmed that Monday’s changes meant the eligibility was now further expanded to cover those Hongkongers born between 1979 and 1997 whose parents did not apply to the BN(O) scheme for them before the handover.
The initial BN(O) scheme was introduced in 2021 for relevant passport holders in response to Beijing’s imposition of the national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, which prohibits acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign groups.
More than 5 million Hongkongers were eligible for the scheme allowing successful applicants and their dependants to live, work and study in Britain, with a path for full citizenship after five years.
But only Hongkongers born before the handover on June 30, 1997, were eligible for BN(O) status. Their adult children could apply as dependants, but only if they did so at the same time as their parents.
The BN(O) scheme has since been extended. In November 2022, adult children of BN(O) status holders born on or after the handover were made eligible to apply to the route independently. It also applies to their dependants.
Since the BN(O) route was launched, more than 230,000 people have been granted a visa and almost 170,000 have moved to Britain, according to the UK government.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in Monday’s statement: “This country will always honour its historic commitment to the people of Hong Kong …. While we must restore order and control to our borders, the British people will always welcome those in genuine need of sanctuary.”
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper also said the updated scheme aimed to ensure that “young people who missed out on resettlement protection because of their age will now be covered”.
The news was greeted with mixed responses. In the popular online forum Reddit, one user claiming to be from Hong Kong called it a “confusing move”.
“While the [Home Office] still hasn’t addressed the concern of the new [English proficiency and income] requirements, which potentially could kick lots of people out, they want more people to come so they can ‘honour its historic commitment’?”
The user was referring to the immigration reforms in which BN(O) visa holders will be subject to stricter English standard requirements as well as an annual income threshold of £12,570 (HK$134,478 or US$17,100) for three to five years.
Another user said the government got the focus wrong and priority should be to help those who “got politically convicted” to move to Britain first.
