Hong Kong Watch ‘5+1’ BNO pathway campaign: Next steps
Despite recent reports that British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa holders will potentially be exempt from the proposed 10-year pathway to indefinite leave to remain (ILR), many questions remain unanswered and many BNO Hong Kongers are still left in uncertainty over their futures in the UK. The government has recently stated that no decision has yet been made on the future of the BNO scheme, meaning extensions to ILR are still on the table.
Hong Kong Watch urges the UK government to officially exempt BNOs from the 10-year pathway to ILR and clarify how the BNO scheme will be affected by the new earned settlement model in its public consultation later this year, to demonstrate that it will not renege on the promise it made to the people of Hong Kong in direct response to the Beijing-imposed National Security Law in 2020.
Since the publication of the Immigration White Paper on 12 May, Hong Kong Watch has campaigned tirelessly to maintain the ‘5+1’ BNO pathway. This includes securing a Westminster Hall debate on the impact of the White Paper on humanitarian visa pathways with James Naish MP, supporting an amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill tabled by our Patron Lord Alton of Liverpool, organising a photo stunt outside Parliament featuring remarks from cross-party MPs, and preparing a policy briefing for over 60 MPs ahead of the debate on the petition to keep the five-year pathway to ILR in September, at which a total of 32 MPs voiced their support for BNO Hong Kongers.
In the coming months, the Hong Kong Watch team will follow up closely on the Westminster Hall debate tabled by James Naish MP, meet with allies in the two Houses to secure support for the amendment tabled by Lord Alton, and engage in the government consultation process to secure exemption for BNOs from the proposed changes to the Immigration Rules.
香港監察「5+1」BNO政策倡議：未來計劃
最近有傳媒報導稱，BNO簽證持有人可免受移民白皮書提議的10年定居途徑影響，但很多疑問仍未得到解答，不少BNO香港人仍對自己在英國的未來感到迷茫。政府最近表示，尚未就BNO計劃的前景作決定，意即仍正討論延長入籍年期的建議。
香港監察促請英國政府正式豁免10年定居途徑適用於BNO港人，並於今年稍後時間展開的公眾諮詢中，釐清BNO計劃會如何受到新提出的賺取式定居制度（earned settlement model）影響，藉以表明英國政府不會違背向香港人作出的承諾，而這承諾是對北京於2020年強推《國家安全法》的直接回應。
自今年5月12日英國政府發表移民白皮書以來，香港監察一直不懈爭取維持「5+1」BNO政策。我們的倡議工作包括：與國會議員James Naish MP合作，就白皮書對人道主義簽證途徑的影響申請國會辯論並成功獲批；支援由香港監察贊助人奧爾頓勳爵（Lord Alton of Liverpool）就《邊境安全、庇護和移民法案》提交的修正案；聯同跨黨派議員在國會大樓外舉行快閃拍照活動，呼籲維持政策；9月下議院就要求維持五年定居途徑的請願舉行辯論前，為60多位議員編製政策簡報，最後辯論共有32位議員發聲支持BNO港人。
未來數月，香港監察團隊會密切跟進James Naish MP提呈的國會辯論；就奧爾頓勳爵提交的修正案會見國會議員，爭取上下兩院支持；參與政府諮詢程序，確保BNO港人免受移民規則修訂建議影響。
Photo: paul silvan on Unsplash