Hong Kong British National (Overseas)
Visa
Key Information
In January 2021 the UK Government launched a new migration route for people from Hong Kong. The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) visa is available to BN(O) passport holders from Hong Kong, as well as their family members, in order to come to the UK to live, work and study on a pathway to settled status and citizenship.
More information on the visa and how to apply can be found on the British National (Overseas) visa: Overview page on GOV.UK.
Eligibility – Who Can Apply
You can apply for a BN(O) visa if you are 18 or older and are either:
- a British National (Overseas); or
- the child of a British National (Overseas) born on or after 1 July 1997.
If you are child of a BN(O) passport holder, born on or after 1 July 1997, you can apply for the visa independently from your parents. Other family members must usually apply at the same time as the BN(O) passport holder.
Your permanent home must be:
- in Hong Kong, if you’re applying from outside the UK.
- in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, or Hong Kong if you’re applying in the UK.
What the visa entitles you to
The BN(O) visa will allow you and your family members to come and live in the UK for up to 5 years. After living in the UK for 5 years you can choose to extend your visa or, if you meet all eligibility criteria, you can apply to live in the UK permanently.
Whilst in the UK you can:
- Work (except as a professional sportsperson or sports coach).
- Study including at school, college and university (however there may be funding eligibility restrictions for some education such university finance and apprenticeships).
Most BN(O) visa holders have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) on their visa. This means that you cannot apply for benefits or other services that are classed as “public funds”. More information on what is classed as a public fund can be found on the NRPF Network website.
In some circumstances a BN(O) visa holder may be able to apply to lift the NRPF condition on their visa. Where a BN(O) visa holder is destitute, or at imminent risk of destitution, they can apply for a “change of conditions” to lift their NRPF condition and apply for benefits. You can do this if:
- do not have a place to live and cannot afford one;
- have a place to live but cannot afford essential living costs like food or heating;
- are at risk of losing your place to live, or being unable to afford essential living costs;
- have a very low income, and not having access to benefits would harm your child’s wellbeing.
You can refer to Apply to change your permission to allow access to public funds on GOV.UK to get more information on a change of conditions, including how to apply.
There is funding available for your council to support you while the application is decided. More information on that, and other support available to Hong Kong BN(O)s, can be found on our support for BN(O) visa holders page.