Table of Contents
- What is a BNO visa?
- Who can apply for a BNO visa?
- BNO visa requirements
- Documents required for a BNO visa application
- How to apply for a BNO visa
- BNO visa extension/renewal
- BNO visa to ILR
What is a BNO visa?
A BN(O) visa is an immigration route created for Hong Kong residents with British National (Overseas) status and their family members, giving them permission to live, work and study in the UK. It is often called the ‘BN(O) 5+1’ visa because a holder can apply to stay for an initial period of either 2 years and 6 months or 5 years, and then, after 5 continuous years of residence, apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), leading to British citizenship a further year (1 year) later (which is where the ‘+1’ comes from). The BNO visa can be extended as many times as needed while you remain eligible, so those who arrive with initial permission for 2.5 years can extend for a further 2.5 years before reaching the 5-year qualifying period for settlement.
Who can apply for a BNO visa?
The BN(O) visa is for BN(O) status holders and their family members, including partners, children, and adult children under the expanded 2026 Adult Child route. This allows a wider group of adult children to apply independently and bring their own families. Eligibility falls under three distinct pathways, each with its own evidential requirements.
BNO status holders
You can apply as a main applicant if you are a British National (Overseas) by virtue of your connection to Hong Kong before the 1997 handover, and you ordinarily live in Hong Kong, the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. You do not need to hold a current BN(O) passport, because BN(O) is a nationality status for life; you simply need to be able to provide evidence of that status. For example, you can provide an expired BN(O) passport or confirmation from HM Passport Office, in accordance with Appendix Hong Kong British National (Overseas) of the Immigration Rules.
Family members of BNO status holders
Family members can apply either at the same time as the main applicant or later, as long as the main BN(O) status holder is resident or applying to come to the UK. Eligible family members can include a partner (spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner in a relationship akin to marriage for at least 2 years), children under 18, and, in some circumstances, adult dependent relatives and adult children who form part of the same household. Each dependant must make their own application, link it to the main applicant, and individually satisfy the suitability and validity requirements.
BNO Adult Child route
From February 2026, adult children of BN(O) status holders who were under 18 on 1 July 1997 can apply in their own right, without needing to be included on a parent’s application. Originally, only a narrower group of younger adult children could apply under a ‘Household Member’ framework that required continued dependency on their BN(O) parent. The new rules allow more adult children of BN(O) families to relocate to the UK, even if they are no longer dependants, and they can bring their own partner and dependent children with them as part of the application.
BNO visa requirements
To qualify for a BN(O) visa, applicants must be a BN(O) status holder or eligible family member, meet residence and financial requirements, pass suitability checks, and submit a valid application with supporting documents. There is no English language requirement at the initial application or extension stage; however, when you later apply for ILR, you must meet an English language requirement at CEFR level B1 (or hold an exempting qualification) and pass the Life in the UK Test.
Eligibility requirements
Eligibility under the BN(O) route is based on your relationship, residence, financial and (where applicable) tuberculosis requirements, as follows:
Relationship requirement
You must be either a BN(O) status holder or an eligible family member of a BN(O) status holder. This may include:
- A partner (spouse, civil partner, or unmarried partner of at least 2 years’ cohabitation)
- A child under the age of 18 at the date of application (or born in the UK to a parent on the route)
- An adult child who was under 18 on 1 July 1997, or
- In more limited circumstances, an adult dependent relative in the same household.
The relationship must be genuine and subsisting, and it must have existed before the main applicant was granted their BN(O) permission (unless it is a parent-child relationship that arose by birth in the UK).
Residence requirement
The main applicant must ordinarily be resident in Hong Kong, the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man at the time of application. Dependent family members applying from outside the UK must ordinarily be resident in the same territories, and a dependant who was born in the UK can be added to the route. If you are applying from inside the UK, you must not be in breach of immigration laws.
Financial requirement
Applicants applying from outside the UK, or from inside the UK with less than 12 months’ UK residence, must show they have sufficient funds to accommodate and support themselves and their family for at least 6 months without recourse to public funds. Acceptable sources of funds include savings, employment or self-employment income, rental or other unearned income, and credible third-party support from family or friends.
As a rough idea of the minimum funds expected (over and above housing costs), you would be expected to have around £2,000 for a single adult, £3,100 for a couple with a child, and around £4,600 for a couple with three children, although the actual figure will depend on household size and housing costs. You and your dependants may not need to meet these requirements if you have been living continuously in the UK for 12 months or more at the date of application.
Tuberculosis (TB) requirement
If you are applying from a country on the Home Office’s TB-testing list (which includes Hong Kong), and you have been resident in that country for 6 months or more immediately before your application, you may need to provide a valid TB certificate. Those who have been living in the UK for the 6 months preceding their application, children under 11, and those transiting through a listed country for less than 6 months are not normally required to provide a TB certificate.
Suitability requirements
All applicants must satisfy the general suitability, which includes:
- Not having unspent criminal convictions
- Not having previously breached UK immigration laws, and
- Not presenting a risk to national security, public order or the public good.
The Home Office will also refuse applications where false representations are made or material facts are withheld.
Validity requirements
To make a valid BNO visa application, you must apply online using the correct BN(O) application form on GOV.UK, pay the application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), provide biometric information (fingerprints and a photograph), and submit proof of identity and BN(O) status.
Documents required for a BNO visa application
You may need to submit some or all of the following documents to support your BN(O) application. Other evidence may be required for applicants aged 18 or over applying as the child of a BN(O) status holder. In addition, alternative evidence may be accepted where specific documents cannot be provided. Example documents for a BN(O) visa include:
- Identity document, such as a valid passport or travel document (the applicant’s BN(O) or HKSAR passport is preferred) and proof of BN(O) status (for example, an expired BN(O) passport or confirmation from HM Passport Office)
- Proof of residency in Hong Kong, the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man (such as a tenancy agreement, utility bills, HKID card, or employer letter)
- Proof of financial support sufficient to maintain and accommodate the household for at least 6 months
- Bank or savings account statements covering the funds relied upon
- Payslips, a letter from an employer, or proof of self-employment income, where relevant
- Evidence of accommodation in the UK, such as a tenancy or mortgage agreement, or a letter from family or friends offering accommodation
- Evidence of family relationship for each dependant
- Marriage or civil partnership certificate, or evidence of at least 2 years’ cohabitation for unmarried partners
- Full birth certificates for children, showing both parents’ names
- Where an adult child is applying as the child of a BN(O) status holder, additional evidence of the parent’s BN(O) status and the family relationship (for example, household registration documents or immigration records showing the applicant was under 18 on 1 July 1997), and
- TB certificate
How to apply for a BNO visa
To apply for a BN(O) visa, you will need to:
- Submit an online application
- Pay the application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge
- Provide your identity documents and supporting evidence, and
- Verify your identity either through the UK Immigration: ID Check app or by attending a visa application centre to provide biometrics (fingerprints and a photograph).
If you are applying with family members, each person must complete their own application as a dependant. In practice, the BN(O) status holder usually applies first in order to obtain an application reference number (a GWF or Unique Application Number (UAN)), which their family members then use to link their applications. Alternatively, the main applicant can obtain a ‘family linking code’ at the start of the online application, which dependants can enter when submitting their own applications so that the Home Office considers them together.
BNO visa extension/renewal
A BN(O) visa can be extended as many times as you need, as long as you continue to meet the eligibility requirements and the main applicant still holds (or is applying for) valid BN(O) permission. You will need to apply to extend from inside the UK, submit your biometrics where requested, and pay the extension fee and IHS.
Standard Home Office service standards are 8 weeks for an in-country decision, with priority services available for an additional fee. Time spent on an earlier grant continues to count towards the 5-year qualifying period for ILR, so an extension does not reset the residence clock.
Children under 18
A child under 18 can only extend their BN(O) visa if:
- At least one parent is, or is being granted, BN(O) permission at the same time (unless the parent is a British citizen or settled in the UK)
- The child continues to live with the parent (except where studying away at boarding school, college or university), and
- They are not leading an independent life or in a marriage or civil partnership.
The suitability and validity requirements of Appendix Hong Kong British National (Overseas) must also be satisfied.
Partners, children over 18 and adult dependent relatives
A partner, a dependent adult child, or an adult dependent relative who was last granted permission as a dependant under the BN(O) route can apply to extend in line, as long as they continue to meet the suitability and validity requirements. Partners and adult dependants do not need to re-prove the underlying relationship that was accepted at their first application, although the Home Office can request further evidence if there is reason to doubt the relationship is still genuine and subsisting.
A partner whose relationship has ended (for example, on divorce, dissolution or bereavement) may still be able to extend their visa, as long as they continue to meet the BN(O) route requirements in their own right (e.g. as a parent of a qualifying child).
BNO visa to ILR
BN(O) visa holders can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after 5 years’ continuous residence in the UK, provided they meet the requirements, and they can apply up to 28 days before completing the 5-year period. It is important to bear in mind that absences of more than 180 days in any rolling 12-month period during the qualifying timeframe will normally break continuous residence. Time spent on another settlement-leading route (for example, Skilled Worker or the Representative of an Overseas Business visa) can count towards the 5 years, provided the most recent grant of permission is under the BN(O) route.
Key requirements for a BN(O) ILR application include:
- 5 years’ continuous residence in the UK on a qualifying route, with the most recent grant on the BN(O) route
- No more than 180 days’ absence from the UK in any rolling 12-month period during the qualifying period
- Satisfying the suitability requirements in Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules
- Meeting the English language requirement at CEFR level B1 or higher, unless exempt
- Passing the Life in the UK Test, unless exempt, and
- Paying the ILR application fee and providing biometric information.
Family members applying for ILR on the BN(O) route must still qualify as dependants at the point of the ILR application. For example, a partner’s relationship must remain genuine and subsisting. Each family member must also meet the requirements individually, including 5 years’ continuous residence, which means that a dependant who joined the main applicant later in the qualifying period may only become eligible for ILR some time after the main applicant. Children under 18 on the date of the ILR application do not need to meet the English language requirement or pass the Life in the UK Test.
You can check more information on BNO Visa to ILR Requirements and Guidance
References:
GOV.UK: British National (Overseas) visa