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Ministers have opened up visas to thousands more people from Hong Kong in the wake of the 20-year prison sentence handed down to the pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai.
Adult children of British national (overseas) status holders who were under 18 at the time of Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China will be eligible to apply for the route independently of their parents, a Home Office spokesperson told the Guardian on Monday.
Their partners and children will also be able to move to the UK under the expanded route, the Home Office said. The Home Office estimates that 26,000 people will arrive in the UK because of Monday’s changes over the next five years.
The expansion comes hours after the British-Hong Kong media mogul Lai, 78, was given a “heartbreakingly cruel” punishment. His family say his health is declining rapidly and he will die in jail.
Dozens of MPs have called on the government to ensure changes to permanent residency requirements do not withdraw support for Hongkongers and others on humanitarian visas.
In 2020, following the imposition of Beijing’s national security law in Hong Kong, the UK government announced a new visa scheme that would allow BNO passport holders there to come to Britain and gain settled status after five years, plus citizenship a year later.
Since the BNO route for people from Hong Kong was launched, more than 230,000 people have been granted a visa and almost 170,000 have moved to the UK.
The route’s expansion closes a gap in eligibility that has led to unfair outcomes within families, with some children able to resettle and others not.
Keir Starmer raised Lai’s case directly with President Xi Jinping during a recent visit to Beijing. Now that the sentencing has happened, the government has said it will “rapidly engage” further on Lai’s case.
In December, 34 Labour MPs said they had “significant concerns about the potential adverse consequences” of changes announced in November to indefinite leave to remain (ILR), which allows migrants to live, work and study permanently in the UK, then acquire British citizenship.
They wrote to the migration minister, Mike Tapp, to ask him to ensure new requirements were not applied retroactively to about 200,000 Hongkongers who were granted BNO visas from 2021 by the previous Conservative government after fleeing a crackdown by Beijing.
Of particular concern is the newly announced requirement for “upper intermediate” (B2) level of English, increased from “intermediate” (B1), and the necessity to have earned more than £12,570 a year for a minimum of three to five years before being able to apply for ILR.
The government has clarified that Hongkongers will be able to apply for settled status after five years, unlike other migrants who will have the period extended to 10 years.
The government said it was consulting on the salary thresholds and language requirements.
Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, said: “This country will always honour its historic commitment to the people of Hong Kong. We are proud to have already provided a safe haven to almost 170,000 Hongkongers since 2021. In the face of the continued deterioration of rights and freedoms, we are now expanding eligibility so more families can build new lives here.
While we must restore order and control to our borders, the British people will always welcome those in genuine need of sanctuary.”
Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, said: “Though Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms continue to erode, this government’s support for its people remains steadfast, and that’s why we are ensuring that young people who missed out on resettlement protection because of their age will now be covered.”
