Hong Kong Watch meets with the Minister for Immigration to discuss 'fixing the gap' in the BNO Scheme

On 2 April, members of the Hong Kong Watch team met with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office) and Minister of State for Immigration, Seema Malhotra MP, alongside Charlotte Nichols MP and Sarah Hall MP, to raise concerns over the gap in the BNO visa scheme which renders children of BNO passport holders born before 1 July 1997 ineligible for the visa. 

The meeting came about as a result of our consistent advocacy on this issue. Since the launch of our briefing in July last year, we have met with over 40 Members of Parliament to discuss this issue and raised our concerns with Home Office policy staff regularly. We organised a letter to the Minister with the assistance of Charlotte Nichols, Labour MP for Warrington North, and Sarah Hall, Labour MP for Warrington South, requesting a Ministerial meeting, which was supported by 13 Parliamentarians from all three major parties.  

During the meeting, Charlotte Nichols MP and Sarah Hall MP highlighted the positive impact on their constituencies brought by the growing BNO Hong Konger community. Our Advisor Finn Lau shared his personal acquaintance with Hong Kongers frozen out of the scheme, and highlighted the deteriorating human rights situation in Hong Kong and the need for these individuals to flee political repression. The Minister affirmed that eligibility criteria for the BNO scheme are kept under regular review.

Previously, Hong Kong Watch campaigned for BNO visa eligibility to be expanded to include children of BNO passport holders born on or after 1 July 1997. In November 2022, the scheme was expanded to include these individuals. 

However, this expansion still left a gap in the scheme for individuals born before 1 July 1997. A child born before 1 July 1997 was dependent on their parents applying for BNO status on their behalf. If the parent neglected to apply for BNO status for their children, they are ineligible for the BNO visa scheme regardless of whether their parents hold BNO status. 

You can read a copy of our letter to the Minister here.

You can read our briefing on the pre-1997 gap in the BNO scheme here. 

Thomas Benson, Research and Policy Advisor at Hong Kong Watch, commented:

“As a result of the gap in the BNO visa eligibility rules, many Hong Kongers have watched their families and friends flee Hong Kong while they remain left behind, with no lifeboat out of the city. Before the handover, they were children, unable to apply for BNO status for themselves. Now, they are aged 28 to 46, and at the prime working years of their life. It is only reasonable that these individuals should be able to reunite with their BNO visa holding family members in the UK. 

We would like to thank the Minister for her time and consideration, and we look forward to working with her and the Home Office to ensure that this gap in the BNO visa scheme is fixed in due course.”

香港監察會見英國內政部移民大臣  討論修補BNO計劃 涵蓋主權移交前出生BNO持有人子女

四月二日，香港監察團隊、Charlotte Nichols MP和Sarah Hall MP與英國內政部移民及公民事務大臣Seema Malhotra MP會面，討論修補BNO計劃漏洞，納入主權移交前出生的BNO持有人子女。

這次會議是經過我們持續不懈倡議的成果。自去年七月發表相關簡報以來，我們已會見了超過40名國會議員討論這項議題，並定期向內政部政策人員溝通。在代表北沃靈頓（Warrington North）選區的國會議員Charlotte Nichols MP和代表南沃靈頓（Warrington South）選區的Sarah Hall MP的協助下，我們去信內政部請求會面，該信得到了13名來自三大主要政黨議員的支持。

會議期間，Charlotte Nichols MP提到了BNO港人社群對她的選區帶來的正面影響。香港監察顧問Finn Lau分享了未符合資格申請BNO簽證的港人真實案例，亦談及在香港每況愈下的人權環境下，仍有人迫切需要逃離政治打壓。大臣確認內政部會定期檢討BNO計劃資格規定。

過去香港監察曾致力倡議擴大BNO計劃合資格範圍，涵蓋1997年7月1日或之後出生的BNO護照持有人子女。在2022年11月，內政部宣布擴大BNO計劃涵蓋這些年輕人。

然而，現時計劃仍然存在漏洞，1997年7月1日前出生的人士仍未能受惠於BNO簽證。在1997年7月1日前出生，主權移交時仍未成年的人士必須依賴父母為其申請BNO身分。如果父母未有為子女申請BNO身份，無論父母本身是否持有BNO，他們都不符合資格申請BNO簽證。

你可在此處閱覽致內政部大臣的信件。

你可在此處閱讀簡報全文《Closing the Gap: Extending the BNO Scheme to those Born before 1997》。

香港監察研究及政策顧問、前英國國會研究員Thomas Benson指出：

「BNO簽證計劃中的漏洞，令許多人眼看着家人和朋友離開香港，而自己卻被遺留下來，沒有救生艇可乘。在香港主權移交前，他們仍是未成年子女，無法為自己申請英國國民（海外）（BNO）身分。目前，他們年齡介乎28至46歲之間，正值人生的黃金工作年齡。這些人理應能夠與持有BNO簽證的家人在英國團聚。

我們感謝移民及公民事務大臣給予時間對此作出考慮，並期待與她和內政部合作，確保在適時彌補BNO簽證計劃中的這一漏洞。」