British National (Overseas): Pensions

(asked on 9th January 2024) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his international counterparts on the withholding of mandatory provident funds in Hong Kong from British National (Overseas) passport holders.


Answered by
Anne-Marie Trevelyan Portrait
Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 15th January 2024

We are aware that individuals who have chosen to take up the British Nationals (Overseas) Visa (BN(O)) route are having difficulties in accessing their pensions held in the Hong Kong Mandatory Provident Funds (MPF). The root of the problem is the Chinese Government's decision not to recognise the BN(O) passport. We continue to urge the Hong Kong authorities to facilitate early drawdown of funds as is the case for other Hong Kong residents who move overseas permanently. I raised this issue with the Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury on 18 April 2023 and pressed for a pragmatic solution. The Investment Minister, Lord Johnson, raised the matter with Hong Kong's Commercial Secretary, during his visit to Hong Kong in May 2023.

Reticulating Splines