MPs raise alarm about proposed ‘earned settlement’ impact on BN(O)s
Yesterday, 6 members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Hong Kong and 30 other Parliamentarians wrote to the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood MP, raising concerns that the government’s proposed ‘earned settlement’ requirements will block nearly 9 out of 10 adult British National (Overseas) visa holders from gaining settled status.
On 28 November 2025, the Home Office launched a consultation on its new ‘earned settlement’ proposals, which aims to ensure that migrants to the UK are well-integrated and economically self-sufficient. The principal new requirements are (a) to demonstrate CEFR B2 or “upper intermediate” level English, and (b) to demonstrate earnings of at least £12,570 for a minimum of three years. The consultation runs until Thursday 12 February.
The letter was issued to mark the publication of a new large-scale survey of BN(O) visa holders by Hong Kong Watch, launched yesterday in the Houses of Parliament. The survey finds that only 12% of BN(O) Hong Kongers will get settled status under the Home Office’s proposed ‘earned settlement’ requirements.
You can read Hong Kong Watch’s survey briefing in full here.
You can read the letter to the Home Office in full here.
Lord Alton of Liverpool, Patron of Hong Kong Watch, Vice-Chair of the APPG on Hong Kong, and Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, commented:
“BN(O) Hong Kongers should not need to ‘earn’ their settlement in the manner described by the Home Office’s recent proposals. They do not see British citizenship as a mere piece of paper. These are individuals who once had their British citizenship unilaterally stripped away and went out of their way to retain ties to the UK. These British nationals have believed the UK government’s promise that they can regain their citizenship, after six years’ residency, and have planned their lives in the UK based on that guarantee. We have a historic and moral obligation to uphold that promise.”
Bobby Dean MP, Vice-Chair of the APPG on Hong Kong, and Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton and Wallington, commented:
“BN(O) Hong Kongers are keen to integrate and build new lives in the UK. Where BN(O)s are not in work, due to retirement or care responsibilities, they support themselves via private savings and family support. We should not punish these life decisions, which were made in compliance with the original rules of the scheme, by switching up the requirements just as BN(O)s are about to qualify for settled status. It benefits nobody – neither BN(O)s, nor the British public, nor the economy, nor our international reputation. We urge the government not to move the goalposts for BN(O)s and recognise that a unique humanitarian scheme deserves unique treatment in the migration rules.”
Benedict Rogers, co-founder and Chair of Trustees of Hong Kong Watch, commented:
“Hong Kong Watch’s demographically-weighted survey conclusively demonstrates that the new requirements block an overwhelming majority of BN(O)s from obtaining settled status – just as the majority of BN(O)s are about to start qualifying. Introducing these new requirements would be a terrible way to treat these British Nationals, who believed in the UK’s offer of a safe home, and now find the offer of British citizenship snatched away by the Home Office at the last possible moment.”
Catherine Li, BN(O) visa holder, and Co-founder and Director of Hong Kong Aid, commented:
“Like many BNOs, I came to the UK to flee repression and the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong. The UK is meant to be a place of safety for us. Withdrawing that protection now would be a terrible betrayal, five years after BNOs rebuilt their lives here.”
配合香港監察BNO調查報告 36位跨黨派議員就新定居要求對BNO港人影響去信內相表達憂慮
昨天，六位英國國會跨黨派香港小組（All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong）成員和30位國會議員致函內政大臣馬曼婷（Shabana Mahmood），對政府提出的「賺取式定居」（earned settlement）要求表達憂慮。新要求將令接近九成的成年BNO簽證持有人不合資格申請定居身分。
2025年11月28日，內政部就早前提出的賺取式定居制度展開公眾諮詢，政策旨在確保移居英國的移民能夠融入社會和經濟自立。新要求主要包括：英語程度達到歐洲共同語言參考標準（CEFR）B2或「中高級」等級，以及至少連續三年維持12,570英鎊以上年收入。公眾諮詢期將於2月12日（星期四）結束。
這封聯署信配合香港監察昨天在英國國會發表的大型BNO問卷調查結果而發出。問卷調查發現，在內政部提出的賺取式定居要求下，只有12%BNO港人符合資格申請定居。
香港監察調查簡報全文可在此處閱讀。
致內政部聯署信全文可在此處閱讀。
香港監察贊助人、英國國會跨黨派香港小組副主席、人權聯合委員會主席奧爾頓勳爵（Lord Alton of Liverpool）表示：
「BNO港人不應該需要根據內政部提出的方案『賺取』定居。他們並不把英國公民身分僅僅視為一紙文件。這群人曾被單方面剝奪英國公民身分，但仍想方設法維持與英國的連結。這些英國國民相信英國政府的承諾，即居滿六年後可重獲公民身分，並根據這項承諾計劃在英國的生活。我們有歷史和道義責任履行承諾。」
英國國會跨黨派香港小組副主席、Carshalton and Wallington選區自由民主黨議員Bobby Dean MP表示：
「BNO港人渴望融入英國社會建立新生活。因為退休或照顧家庭而未有工作的BNO港人依靠個人積蓄和親友援助維持生計。我們不應在他們即將符合資格申請定居之際突然更改要求，懲罰他們按照原定條款作出的人生決定。這既不利於BNO港人，也不利於英國民眾、經濟和國際聲譽。我們敦促政府不要對BNO港人搬龍門，並承認這項特殊的人道主義計劃理應在移民規則中得到特殊對待。」
香港監察共同創辦人兼信託董事會主席羅傑斯（Benedict Rogers）表示：
「香港監察反映BNO人口的問卷調查不容置疑地顯示，新要求將阻礙絕大部分BNO港人獲得定居身分，而此時正是大多數BNO港人即將符合資格申請之際。引入這些新要求對這些英國國民來說，是極其惡劣的對待。他們相信英國能提供安全家園，如今卻在最後一刻被內政部剝奪成為英國公民的機會。」
BNO簽證持有人、港援共同創辦人兼董事Catherine Li表示：
「跟許多BNO港人一樣，我來到英國是為了逃離在香港的打壓和對權利與自由的破壞。英國本應是我們的避風港，在BNO港人來到這地重建生活五年後撤銷這種保護將是莫大的背叛。」
Photo: Jacob Diehl on Unsplash