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Willa Wu

A group of Labour Party MPs have urged the British government to ensure changes to permanent residency requirements do not undermine support for Hongkongers on a bespoke visa pathway or others admitted on humanitarian grounds.
They have asked the Home Office to consider exempting the BN(O) routes from the government’s proposed overhaul of the wider settlement system as part of four requests to extend support for Hongkongers under the scheme.
James Naish and 33 of his Labour colleagues sent a letter to migration and citizenship minister Mike Tapp on Wednesday during an ongoing 12-week consultation period on the UK government’s proposed settlement system overhaul, announced last month.
As part of the planned changes, BN(O) visa holders will face stricter English-language requirements and higher income thresholds for permanent residence applications, although they will be exempt from a proposal to extend the qualifying period from five to 10 years.
The MPs said in the letter that they had “significant concerns” about proposals to change the minimum mandatory requirements for indefinite leave to remain, particularly if applied rigidly and retroactively to those already in the United Kingdom part-way through their five-year pathway.
“The BN(O) visa was created with cross-party support to offer a safe route for Hongkongers following the crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong,” Naish wrote in a social media post accompanying the joint letter.
“Many families made life-changing decisions based on the clear promise of a path to settlement after five years.”
The MPs made four requests in the letter, including a call to exempt the BN(O) visa scheme in perpetuity, along with all humanitarian visa routes, from the proposed changes.

They also asked the Home Office to guarantee full transitional protections for everyone already in the country and to retain enduring, common-sense exemptions for pensioners, disabled people, students, carers and those contributing in other non-financial ways.
“To be clear, Hongkongers are repatriating to safety in the UK, and returning to Hong Kong is not an option for them,” the letter said.
The group has not yet received a response from the Labour government.
The BN(O) scheme was introduced in January 2021 in response to the Beijing-imposed national security law. It has granted visas to more than 238,000 Hongkongers and helped 175,000 move to the UK as of September this year.
Under the government’s proposals, BN(O) settlement applicants must earn at least £12,570 (US$16,430), or around HK$128,000, annually for three to five years, or have an “alternative amount of income”, which has yet to be specified.
BN(O) holders will also need to meet the B2 English proficiency level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, an “upper-intermediate level” equivalent to the British A-level standard.
The Home Office estimates that about 195,000 BN(O) visa holders will settle in the UK over the next five years, with a spike of 92,000 settlement applications expected in 2026 when the first cohort becomes eligible to apply for permanent residency under the five-year route.
The 12-week consultation runs until February next year, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood saying that the changes would take effect from April.
According to the consultation paper, the UK government is seeking views on how long the income requirement should apply and what grounds might justify exemptions.


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Labour MPs urge UK to protect Hong Kong BN(O) migrants from residency reforms

Labour MPs have called on the UK government to protect Hongkongers from stricter residency rules under the proposed BN(O) visa overhaul. Photo: EPA-EFE

The BN(O) scheme has granted visas to more than 238,000 Hongkongers and helped 175,000 move to the UK as of September this year. Photo: Fung Chang

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A Hong Kong community group has warned that new UK immigration thresholds could affect BN(O) migrants’ path to settlement. Photo: AFP

BN(O) holders seeking settlement may need to show an annual income of at least HK$128,000 for three to five consecutive years, while also meeting a stricter English proficiency level. Photo: Fung Chang

UK back-pedals on tougher English language test for Hongkongers on BN(O) pathway

More than 160,000 Hong Kong residents have moved to the UK under the BN (O) pathway since it was introduced in 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE

A Union flag flies atop a pole in front of the clock face of Big Ben at the Houses of Parliament in London. Photo: AFP

News

Hong Kong

Politics

Lawmakers voice ‘significant concerns’ that tighter residency criteria could undermine efforts to safeguard Hongkongers’ settlement pathway


Lawmakers voice ‘significant concerns’ that tighter residency criteria could undermine efforts to safeguard Hongkongers’ settlement pathway.


Britain

Shabana Mahmood

UK Labour Party

Labour MPs urge UK to protect Hong Kong BN(O) migrants from residency reforms

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Lawmakers voice ‘significant concerns’ that tighter residency criteria could undermine efforts to safeguard Hongkongers’ settlement pathway

Lawmakers voice ‘significant concerns’ that tighter residency criteria could undermine efforts to safeguard Hongkongers’ settlement pathway