Sign our Letter to the Home Secretary
SUBJECT: Urgent concerns about the “Earned Settlement” consultation and its impact on British Nationals (Overseas) visa holders and refugees from Hong Kong
Dear Home Secretary,
We are deeply grateful for the United Kingdom’s warm welcome to BN(O) visa holders over the past five years. Hong Kongers have integrated well into the local communities where we now live. Many are already serving as school governors, volunteers, and even local elected councillors. We are committed to contributing positively to the flourishing of this country we are proud to call home.
We therefore very much welcome the clear commitment in the Government’s new immigration proposals that BN(O) visa holders and their dependants will continue to benefit from the five-year route to settlement. This recognises the unique historical and moral responsibility that the United Kingdom holds toward the people of Hong Kong, and it will spare tens of thousands of families unnecessary distress and uncertainty.
However, several elements of the “earned settlement” proposals are giving our community very serious cause for concern, both for certain vulnerable BN(O) families and – even more acutely – for young Hong Kong pro-democracy activists who have been forced to seek asylum here.
Proposed new economic contribution / income requirements
Many BN(O) arrivals are full-time students, retirees, stay-at-home parents, or family carers who do not meet conventional salary thresholds. Any new “sustained and measurable economic contribution” test or minimum income rule risks permanently excluding these entirely legitimate residents who are already fully integrated in their communities and contributing to British society in non-financial ways.
Raising the English-language requirement from B1 to B2
Tens of thousands of BN(O) holders will reach the five-year point and become eligible for settlement in 2026. A sudden increase to B2 level, without adequate notice or transition, would throw many vulnerable individuals off balance, and deny permanent status to people who have lived, worked and put down roots here for half a decade.
The 20-year protection route and proposed 20-year penalty for those who enter as visitors
We are extremely alarmed that the combination of the new 20-year baseline for refugees on the “core protection” routes and the suggested additional 20-year extension for anyone who entered as a visitor will apply to Hong Kong political exiles who have no access to the BN(O) visa scheme.
Many young activists – particularly those born after 1997 or whose parents never registered for BN(O) status – have no safe, legal route to the UK. They are compelled to travel to the UK as visa-free visitors and only claim asylum once inside the country, because they fear declaring an asylum intention at the border would lead to detention, or being refused entry and sent back to Hong Kong. They are also often subjected to surveillance by Chinese authorities while still in Hong Kong, and have needed the time in the UK to prepare adequate evidence to present to the Home Office.
These are genuine political refugees fleeing persecution in Hong Kong. They have come to the UK because they trust the country that first instituted the very freedoms and values they were fighting to preserve in Hong Kong. The United Kingdom’s moral duty to the people of Hong Kong cannot sensibly be limited only to those fortunate enough to hold a BN(O) passport. Imposing a possible 40-year wait for settlement on these courageous young dissidents would be wholly disproportionate.
Indeed, many Hong Kong refugees arrived not knowing they would never be able to return home. Circumstances have forced them to make the UK a home. Over the months and years they have built deep and lasting connections here, fully integrated themselves, contributed to our society — some even serving in HM Armed Forces — and they love and serve this country. It is simply unconscionable to now plunge them into decades of uncertainty.
We therefore respectfully ask the Government, both in the remaining weeks of the consultation and during subsequent parliamentary scrutiny, to:
- Explicitly exempt all BN(O) visa holders and their dependants from any new income or economic-contribution requirements;
- Retain the current B1 English-language standard for the BN(O) route or introduce a generous transitional period; and
- Ensure that Hong Kongers who are currently on a protection route are afforded a maximum five-year path to settlement, in line with the BN(O) scheme.
Thank you for your continued support for the Hong Kong community in the UK.
Yours sincerely