Shortly after the sentencing in Hong Kong of Jimmy Lai, (a British national) to twenty years imprisonment for offences relating to national security, the Home Secretary this week announced her plans to expand the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) route.
Under the new proposal, adult children of British National (Overseas) 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 from their parents. Further, their partners and children will be able to move to the UK under the expanded route. You can find the Government’s press release here: Hong Kongers offered new lives as UK expands safe and legal routes - GOV.UK.
The Government has also indicated that those holding status under the British National (Overseas) route will retain their five year pathway to permanent UK settlement, compared to the new standard baseline of 10 years residence for most other migrants which is expected to be introduced shortly. We have covered these proposals in an earlier blog - Earned Settlement | Drummond Miller.
The Government anticipates that 26,000 people will arrive in the UK over the next five years under this expanded BN (O) route.
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