^{Updated: 24 November 2020}

The Hong Kong BNO Visa will be open to BNO citizens for application from 31 January 2021. The guidance in English is available here and this page is regularly updated.

Click on the different steps below to find out in detail what you need to know for each step.

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The route to citizenship ⦁ 移民入籍四部曲

There are 4 steps to obtaining full British citizenship. It will take at least 6 years and quite a bit of money for the immigration fees and charges at each step.

• Step 1: Apply for the Hong Kong BNO Visa
• Step 2: With a valid visa, you will be granted Leave to Remain, giving you the right to live and work in the UK. You can either get this in a single 5-year visa, or in two 30-month visas
• Step 3: After living here for 5 years you need to apply for settled status, also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
• Step 4: After another 12 months of ILR status, you can apply for full British citizenship

BNO status ⦁ 邊個有BNO身份

The BNO, or British National (Overseas), is a status created for people who had British Dependent Territories Citizenship (BDTC) through a connection with Hong Kong before the handover on 1 July 1997. It is not possible to apply for BNO status now.

BNO citizens are Hong Kong BDTCs who voluntarily applied for BNO status between 1987 and 1997.

The Hong Kong BNO Visa is specifically designed for BNO citizens and their dependants.

Fees ⦁ 申請費用

The applicant and his/her family members will all need to pay:

• £180 to apply to stay for 30 months
• £250 to apply to stay for 5 years

The current Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is £624/person for a year.

Budget well for these non-negotiable fees.

This post is part of a series  ⦁ 移民英國四部曲 Step 1: Apply for the Hong Kong BNO Visa  Step 2: Limited leave to remain for 5 years Step 3 and Step 4: Settled status/British citizenship  Coming here on “Leave Outside the Rules”

_{Image: Annie Spratt on Unsplash}