Indefinite Leave to Remain

Sarah Hall Excerpts

Monday 8th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Sarah Hall (Warrington South) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy.

In recent years, many Hong Kong families have made the brave decision to uproot their lives and move halfway around the world to Britain. They came here on the strength of our word—a clear promise that if they held BNO status, they would have a route to settle here and be able to build a future.

More than 2,400 residents in Warrington South have signed this petition. That is the highest number anywhere in the country, which tells me just how deeply this issue matters to the people I represent. It matters because those arriving from Hong Kong are no longer just headlines or statistics; they are our neighbours. They are parents at the school gate, new business owners on our high streets, and young people starting out in education and work.

I think of Rose and Wilson, who moved to Great Sankey to give their children a simpler and less pressured life; Renata, who set up a play café near Bridge Foot; Cheryl, who started a bakery on Buttermarket Street; Taki and the wonderful team at Warrington Hongkongers, who have created a supportive resource for Hongkongers arriving locally; and, finally, Oscar, a young man who spent time in my office on work experience, showing that this new generation are already part of the fabric of Warrington.

They are here because Britain offered sanctuary when freedoms in Hong Kong were stripped away. We responded with the BNO visa route, because that was the right thing to do. To row back now, or to create uncertainty about people’s status, would not only harm families who have already sold their homes, invested their savings and enrolled their children in British schools; it would also damage Britain’s credibility. Our word must mean something. Trust, once broken, is hard to rebuild.

[Yuan Yang (Earley and Woodley) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend’s stories remind me of stories that I hear in Reading, in my Earley and Woodley constituency. Angie is a nursing associate in the NHS, and her daughter wishes to study paramedic science and also work in the NHS. However, for that to happen, Angie’s daughter needs a route to settlement in order to be eligible to pay home student fees. Does my hon. Friend agree that families like Angie’s need certainty and stability from the Minister and our Government?

[Sarah Hall]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and I thank her for that intervention.

Fairness and the rule of law cut both ways. These families played by the rules, paid the fees and came here legally. They have every right to expect that the path to settlement and citizenship remains exactly as was set out. Every day in Warrington, I see how Hongkongers contribute to our economy, our schools and our community life. They came because they believe in the same values of fairness, freedom, dignity and democracy that we do.

I know that colleagues across the House share a cross-party pride in the BNO scheme; it said something good about who we are and what we are willing to stand up for. Let us not unpick it. Instead, let us fix what needs fixing in our border system without unravelling a promise that families have bet their lives on.

Every day, I see the contribution that Hongkongers make to Warrington South. What they need now is reassurance, not uncertainty. We must keep the five-plus-one route intact for Hongkongers, and in doing so show that Britain is a country whose promises can be trusted and whose Government stand by those who put their faith in us.