Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to offer a route to settlement for Hong Kong people, who, primarily through having been born after the 1997 handover, are not British National (Overseas) (BNO) status holders and are ineligible for the BNO visa.

The Hong Kong BN(O) route is for those with BN(O) status and their eligible family members including adult children who were born after 1 July 1997 and who live with their parents. We do not currently have any plans to change these requirements.

Those not eligible for the BN(O) route can consider other UK immigration routes. For instance, individuals from Hong Kong can apply under the terms of the UK’s new Points Based System, which will enable them to come to the UK in a wider range of professions than in the past.

There is also the existing youth mobility scheme which is open to those aged between 18 and 30 and offers a two-year grant of leave in the UK. There are 1,000 places currently available each year for people from Hong Kong.