Hong Kong Watch launches landmark BN(O) survey report in House of Commons

Today, Hong Kong Watch launched a landmark new survey report on the potential impact of ‘earned settlement’ requirements on British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) visa holders in the UK Parliament. The event was hosted by James Naish MP, Hong Kong Watch Patron and Labour MP for Rushcliffe, and featured insights from Catherine Li, Co-founder and Director of Hong Kong Aid, and Simon Cheng, Founder of Hongkongers in Britain. We were also joined by Bobby Dean MP, Fabian Hamilton MP, Pippa Heylings MP and Mark Sewards MP.

The 20-page report, authored by Hong Kong Watch Senior Research and Policy Advisor Thomas Benson, reported on the findings of a large-scale survey of BN(O) Hong Kongers conducted in late December 2025. With over 4,500 respondents, this was the largest survey of BN(O) Hong Kongers since 2023.

The survey investigated the impact of the new ‘earned settlement’ requirements, proposed by the Home Office in November 2025 as part of reforms to the Immigration Rules, on BN(O) visa holders. These new requirements would impose a minimum earnings requirement of £12,570 for three years, and a language requirement to pass CEFR B2 or “high intermediate” level English, up from B1 “low intermediate”.

Our survey findings revealed that only 12% of adult BN(O)s were confident they could pass the new ‘earned settlement’ requirements. In particular, women and older Hong Kongers were disproportionately affected, and as a result, BN(O) families would overwhelmingly face problems in securing settled status for their children.

Simon highlighted the anxiety among the BNO community over their future in the UK, and raised the need to consider social, economic and cultural contributions BNO Hong Kongers make. Catherine illustrated how the proposed changes would hit vulnerable groups the hardest, and noted the impact of a lengthened pathway to citizenship on Hong Kong refugees and asylum seekers.

You can read the full report here.

James Naish MP, Hong Kong Watch Patron and MP for Rushcliffe, commented: 

“The BN(O) visa route was created with cross-party support to offer a safe route for Hong Kongers to settle in the UK following the crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong. Many families made life-changing decisions based on the clear promise of a path to settlement after five years, and any delay to this would place many of them in deeply precarious situations. The government must ensure that the small print of their immigration reforms genuinely reflects their headline support for Hong Kongers, rather than inadvertently undermining it.”

Thomas Benson, Senior Research and Policy Advisor at Hong Kong Watch, commented: 

“In the words of one survey respondent, UK migration policy is like UK weather – unpredictable and constantly changing. BN(O) Hong Kongers planned their new lives based on the deal that was offered to them in 2021, only to find the goalposts have been moved just as they reach the five-year threshold for settled status. Changing the rules for BN(O)s is wrong both on moral and practical grounds – it achieves little and causes great harm and uncertainty to people that placed their trust in the UK to keep its promises to them.”

香港監察在英國國會發表重大BNO調查報告 僅12%BNO受訪者將符合新定居要求

香港監察今日在英國國會發表重大問卷調查報告，析述「賺取式定居」（earned settlement）要求對BNO簽證持有人的潛在影響。發布會由香港監察贊助人、Rushcliffe選區工黨國會議員James Naish MP主持，講者包括港援共同創辦人兼董事Catherine Li和英國港僑協會創辦人鄭文傑（Simon Cheng）。Bobby Dean MP、Fabian Hamilton MP、Pippa Heylings MP和Mark Sewards MP亦有出席活動。

這份長達20頁的報告由香港監察資深研究及政策顧問湯柏森（Thomas Benson）撰寫，匯報了香港監察在2025年12月下旬對BNO港人展開的大型問卷調查結果。調查收到超過4,500份回應，是自2023年以來最大規模的BNO調查。

調查探討內政部在2025年11月提出的新「賺取式定居」要求對BNO簽證持有人的影響，新要求是《移民規則》（Immigration Rules）改革的一環，當中包括三至五年內年收入不少於12,570英鎊的收入要求，以及通過CEFR B2「高中級」英文程度的語言要求，高於原來B1「低中級」要求。

調查結果顯示，只有12%成年BNO港人有信心符合新提出的「賺取式定居」要求，當中女性和年長港人受到的影響尤為嚴重，因此BNO家庭為子女申請定居身分恐將困難重重。

Simon強調BNO港人社群對自己在英國的未來感到焦慮不安，並指出有必要考慮BNO港人所作出的社會、經濟及文化貢獻。Catherine則闡​​述建議修訂如何對弱勢群體造成沉重打擊，並提到延長入籍年期對難民和尋求庇護港人的影響。

請在此處閱覽報告全文。

香港監察贊助人、Rushcliffe選區國會議員James Naish MP表示：

「BNO簽證計劃在跨黨派支持下設立，原意是因應當局對香港公民自由的打壓，向香港人提供在英國定居的安全途徑。很多家庭根據五年後可獲永居的明確承諾，作出改變人生的決定，任何延誤都會令當中很多人陷入岌岌可危的困境。政府必須確保移民改革的細則確實反映對香港人的重大支持，而不是無意中加以削弱。」

香港監察資深研究及政策顧問湯柏森表示：

「用一位調查受訪者的話來說，英國的移民政策就像英國的天氣——變幻莫測且瞬息萬變。BNO香港人根據2021年向他們提供的協議規劃新生活，卻發現在他們即將達到申請定居的五年門檻時，就被搬龍門。改變BNO計劃規則在道義和實際層面上均屬錯誤，這樣做達不到甚麼效果，卻對相信英國會信守承諾的人造成巨大傷害和不穩定。」