Britain reaffirms support for Hongkongers on BN(O) visas amid asylum reforms

Britain has reaffirmed its commitment to the Hongkongers it “repatriated” under a bespoke migration pathway, as it launched asylum reforms that would quadruple the wait for permanent settlement to 20 years.

While consultations on the proposed plan will be announced later this week, it remained unclear how what London called “the most significant reform” to its asylum system would affect the British National (Overseas) pathway to permanent residency for Hongkongers, which has seen more than 160,000 residents moving to the country since 2021.

Unveiling plans to tighten its immigration policy on Monday, the Labour government pledged to support those “who are truly fleeing peril”. It stressed that the new “safe and legal” migration routes would not affect the country’s existing commitments.

In a 30-page document outlining reforms aimed at curbing the surge in illegal migration, the UK government proposed tightening the system by making refugee status temporary, requiring asylum seekers to wait 20 years – up from the current five – to gain permanent settlement.

But it also pledged to roll out new “safe and legal routes” on humanitarian grounds, highlighting that the country would support those in need and uphold its commitments to Hongkongers.

“We will always be a country that offers protection to those fleeing peril, just as we did, in recent years, when Ukraine was invaded, when Afghanistan was evacuated, and when we repatriated Hongkongers,” British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the parliament.

During the parliamentary meeting, Charlotte Nichols, Labour MP for Warrington North, cited Hongkongers’ concern that the BN(O) visa programme was at risk.