Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department will have discussions with the Treasury on the potential merits of issuing guidance to UK based pension providers that the British National Overseas passport should be considered a valid identity document for the purposes of unfreezing the pension assets of people from Hong Kong who have moved to the UK under the BNO visa scheme.

We are aware of the difficulties British National (Overseas) (BN(O))s are experiencing in seeking early withdrawal of their pension held by the Mandatory Provident Fund in Hong Kong. The root of the problem is the Chinese Government's decision not to recognise the BN(O) passport as a valid identity document in Hong Kong. The UK firmly opposes the discrimination of BN(O)s in this way. We have urged the Hong Kong authorities to facilitate the early drawdown of funds as is the case for other Hong Kong residents who move overseas permanently. I last did so with Christopher Hui, Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury on 18 April and pressed for a pragmatic solution. The Investment Minister, Lord Johnson, also raised the matter with Hong Kong's Commercial Secretary, Algernon Yau, during his recent visit to Hong Kong.