British Connections
General

A guide to applying for a BNO visa

A British Nationality (Overseas) visa, or BNO visa, was introduced for Hong Kong residents to help people who have been negatively impacted by Hong Kong’s new homeland security regulations. There is no restriction on the maximum number of BNO visas available to Hong Kong natives, and the qualifying requirements are pretty low.

There is no necessity, for instance, to have a work offer in the UK or to fulfill a qualification or essential wage criteria. The BNO visa is available to British Connections and Overseas residents of Hong Kong aged 18 and over. If it is missing, you can request confirmation of your status from the UK. A legitimate passport is among the conditions for applying for a BNO visa.

Requirements

You must demonstrate that you can shelter and sustain yourselves and your household members for a minimum of half a year in the UK. Candidates from outside the UK should be ordinarily residents of Hong Kong. There are no English prerequisites for a BNO visa. However, candidates must have a solid command of the English language if they eventually apply for established status.

Candidates must also have enough money to maintain themselves and their household members in the UK. Earnings and savings can reach this criterion. Candidates should also have no severe felony histories and have not participated in any behavior that the UK Government considers detrimental to the common benefit. After submitting your request, you may track the progress of your Hong Kong bno application via the Home Office’s visa status monitoring facility.