Hong Kong British National (Overseas) passport holders will retain a five-year pathway to permanent settlement, the UK government has announced in what it calls the “biggest overhaul” of its legal migration system in 50 years.
The UK Home Office made the announcement on Thursday, after saying earlier this year that it would double the waiting period to 10 years, with reductions for those “making a strong contribution to British life.”
“Hong Kong BN(O)s will retain their existing 5-year pathway to settlement,” the Home Office said in a statement.
“Migration will always be a vital part of Britain’s story. But the scale of arrivals in recent years has been unprecedented,” said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. “To settle in this country forever is not a right, but a privilege. And it must be earned.”
Due to record high levels of migration under the previous government, 1.6 million migrants are set to become eligible for settlement by 2030, the statement said.
The shake-up was designed to “prioritise those who contribute to the economy and play by the rules,” it added.
Since the UK government introduced a bespoke migration pathway, 166,300 Hongkongers have arrived in the UK, as of June 2025, according to a quarterly Home Office report.
‘Uniquely strong attachment’
The Hong Kong BNO route was introduced in January 2021 following Beijing’s enactment of national security legislation in the financial hub, which the UK says amounts to a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Shortly after, China said it would no longer recognise the passports.
Before the 2021 scheme, BNO passports were issued to Hongkongers born before the city’s Handover to China on July 1, 1997, as a compromise between Beijing and London. They did not previously confer any right to settle permanently in Britain.
In a policy paper released the same day, the Home Office said that settlement would be quicker for those with a “uniquely strong attachment to this country,” including the spouses and dependants of British citizens and BNOs from Hong Kong.
“We fully recognise the significant contribution that Hong Kongers have already made to the UK, and the role they will continue to play in the years ahead.”
The Hong Kong pathway also requires migrants to demonstrate knowledge of the English language at B2 level under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and pass a “Life in the UK” test, and fulfil a “continuous residence” requirement.
Under the new rules, a proposal requiring migrants to have a clean criminal record will also apply to Hongkongers looking to settle in the UK.
The statement said that “work will take place to consider the precise threshold at which this is applied, building on rules announced earlier this year to reduce the deportation threshold.”
Other prerequisites include employment, “speaking English to a high standard,” and not claiming benefits.
In a first for the UK government, the changes will also impose penalties on migrants who exploit the system. “The reforms will make Britain’s settlement system by far the most controlled and selective in Europe,” the statement read.
