Hong Kong British Nationals Overseas (HKBNO)
An immigration route opened on 31 January 2021, providing BN(O) status holders from Hong Kong and their eligible dependants with the opportunity to come to the UK to live, study and work, on a pathway to citizenship.
This route reflects the UK’s historic and moral commitment to those people of Hong Kong who chose to retain their ties to the UK by taking up BN(O) status at the point of Hong Kong’s handover to China in 1997.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is leading delivery of a funded national ‘Welcome Programme’ to support those on the BN(O) route and their families to help them to successfully settle in their new communities.
The Welcome Programme has the following elements:
- demand-led funding for local authorities in England to support BN(O) status holders and their families with English language and destitution support
- an online Welcome Pack providing all those on the BN(O) route with information on how to access services and understand life in the UK, with similar resources for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- a network of 12 Welcome Hubs across the whole of the UK to support those arriving on the BN(O) route, established using the existing infrastructure of the Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMPs)
- extension to our voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) grant funding to continue support of the mental health and wellbeing project
- we are also continuing to fund On Your Side, the hate crime reporting and support service for BN(O)s and East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) communities in the UK
Integration Support for HKBNO
Please refer to the South East Strategic Migration Partnership website for more information.