U.K. Lays Out "Bespoke Immigration Route" For Hong Kong BNO Passport Holders

U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the new “bespoke immigration route” will allow holders of British National (Overseas) status to come to the U.K. without the current six month limit, granting them five years limited leave to remain, with the ability to live and work in the U.K. After these five years, they will be able to apply for settled status and, after a further twelve months with that status, for citizenship.

Family dependents will also be allowed into the U.K. and there will be no limit on the numbers allowed to apply, he said. However, Raab made clear he expects “a large number” of those who are eligible to remain in Hong Kong or move elsewhere in the region.

The minister also restated his criticism of HSBC for backing the new law at the expense of Hong Kong citizens’ rights. “I have been very clear in relation to HSBC and to all the banks -- the rights and freedoms and our responsibilities in this country to the people of Hong Kong should not be sacrificed on the altar of bankers’ bonuses,” he said.

The spat over passports is one of a series of flash-points in U.K.-China relations, which have deteriorated on issues ranging from the British response to pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong to the ongoing debate over whether Huawei Technologies Co. can retain a role in building the U.K.’s next-generation 5G telecommunications networks.

In an interview with Sky News in June, Raab said the U.K. would be prepared to sacrifice a post-Brexit free trade deal with China to protect Hong Kong citizens.

“We want a positive relationship with China,” Raab told Parliament on Wednesday. “It is precisely because we respect China as a leading member of the international community that we expect the Chinese government to meet its international obligations to live up to its international responsibilities.”

The U.K. is not alone in criticizing China’s new national security law, which came into force just ahead of the July 1 anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule, a symbolic occasion usually marked by mass protests against Beijing. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said Hong Kong can no longer be considered sufficiently autonomous, and President Donald Trump is considering revoking some or all of its special trade privileges.

Meanwhile the G-7 group of nations has said the law would jeopardize a system “which has allowed Hong Kong to become one of the world’s most prosperous regions.”

The national security law is aimed at punishing acts of secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and “collusion” with foreign and external forces. Separately, Hong Kong lawmakers passed legislation on June 4 that would punish anyone who shows disrespect for China’s national anthem -- something that is already a crime in the mainland.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who is supported by Beijing, has defended the plan, insisting it has wide public support and the city’s freedoms would be preserved.