Potential good news for BNO passport holders

The UK government has opened a path to citizenship for more than 300,000 Hong Kong residents in a bold riposte to China's security crackdown on its former colony.

Dominic Raab, foreign secretary, has pledged to extend visa rights for British National (Overseas) passport holders and facilitate their path to British citizenship unless Beijing rows back from plans to impose national security laws on Hong Kong.
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About 315,000 people hold valid BNO passports, a document issued to Hong Kong residents born before the handover of the territory from UK to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Those residents who registered for BNO status before the handover have the right to consular assistance but they are not British citizens and only have the right to come to the UK for six months.

Speaking on Thursday, Mr Raab announced this period would be extended to 12 months and “provide a pathway to future citizenship”. UK government officials said it was “the right thing to do”.

Mr Raab said: “If China continues down this path and implements this national security legislation, we will . . . allow those BNO passport holders to come to the UK and to apply to work and study for extendable periods of 12 months and that would itself provide a pathway to future citizenship.”
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Forest2thirds wrote: ↑

Sat May 30, 2020 9:38 pm

There are already ways by which a BNO may apply to become British Citizen. Eg. under section 4B of British Nationality Act 1981 or under British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997. There is not much detail in latest announcement as to whether it might become easier for BNOs to do so as a result of the latest development.