Labour MPs urge UK to protect Hong Kong BN(O) migrants from residency reforms
Lawmakers voice ‘significant concerns’ that tighter residency criteria could undermine efforts to safeguard Hongkongers’ settlement pathway
A group of Labour Party MPs have urged the British government to ensure changes to permanent residency requirements do not undermine support for Hongkongers on a bespoke visa pathway or others admitted on humanitarian grounds.
They have asked the Home Office to consider exempting the BN(O) routes from the government’s proposed overhaul of the wider settlement system as part of four requests to extend support for Hongkongers under the scheme.
James Naish and 33 of his Labour colleagues sent a letter to migration and citizenship minister Mike Tapp on Wednesday during an ongoing 12-week consultation period on the UK government’s proposed settlement system overhaul, announced last month.
As part of the planned changes, BN(O) visa holders will face stricter English-language requirements and higher income thresholds for permanent residence applications, although they will be exempt from a proposal to extend the qualifying period from five to 10 years.
The MPs said in the letter that they had “significant concerns” about proposals to change the minimum mandatory requirements for indefinite leave to remain, particularly if applied rigidly and retroactively to those already in the United Kingdom part-way through their five-year pathway.
“The BN(O) visa was created with cross-party support to offer a safe route for Hongkongers following the crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong,” Naish wrote in a social media post accompanying the joint letter.
“Many families made life-changing decisions based on the clear promise of a path to settlement after five years.”