The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Visa (2020)

Details about the visa scheme for British National (Overseas) citizens in Hong Kong have finally been published on 22 July 2020 in a policy statement.

The key pieces of information published today are that:

• the new visa route will open in January 2021, 
• British National (Overseas) citizens in the UK will be permitted to switch in-country without departing from the UK
• British National (Overseas) citizens and their family members arriving at the UK border before January 2021 can be granted “Leave Outside the Rules” for a limited period of six months.

If a British National (Overseas) citizen’s leave is expiring before the new visa route opens however, they will need to find an alternative way to extend it to bridge the gap.

The opening of the route in January does not give permission to British National (Overseas) citizens to overstay their current visas in anticipation of making an application.