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These initiatives were driven by Lord Green of Deddington, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Lord Green of Deddington has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Lord Green of Deddington has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question: HL3965 and HL3966 are attached.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
Lord Green of Deddington
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
12 December 2022
Dear Lord Green,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many arrivals by (1) Ukrainians and their dependants, (2) Hong Kong BNOs and their dependants, and (3) Afghan citizens and their dependants, are included in the latest Office for National Statistics net migration figures, published on 24 November; and when the International Passenger Survey (IPS) stopped being used as a significant element in calculating net migration; and what has taken its place (HL3965;HL3966).
In the Office for National Statistics (ONS) bulletin published on 24 November, Section 4, Migration Events[1] details the following published Home Office data included in the ONS’ total long-term international migration estimates:
Ukrainians: around 89,000 arrived in the UK in the year to June 2022
Afghans: around 21,000 arrived in the UK in the year to June 2022
For British nationals overseas (BN(O)) status holders and their families from Hong Kong, colleagues from the ONS and the Home Office are working together to resolve how we identify those that are long-term international migrants in the data. Home Office statistics show that around 76,000 visas were issued for the BN(O) route in the year ending June 2022. This will represent the upper bound for arrivals, as not all of those with a visa will arrive in the UK or stay long term. The ONS is also working to identify BN(O) status holders in their International Passenger Survey (IPS) data using country of birth and country of last residences as this may help provide a more robust estimate. Current analysis suggests that 28,000 British nationals with a country of birth of Hong Kong immigrated into the UK in the year ending June 2022.
The long-term international migration data from the IPS was the largest component of the LongTerm International Migration (LTIM) estimates until its suspension in March 2020 because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In August 2020 the ONS announced that they would not return to producing official migration statistics from the IPS because it had been stretched beyond its original purpose. The ONS now focuses on measuring actual migration, as opposed to intentions, using primarily administrative data (admin-based migration estimates (ABMEs)). The ONS’ International migration statistical design progress report: July 2022 provides more information.[2]
For the latest long-term international migration estimates; non-EU figures are based on Home Office Border Systems data, EU figures are based on Registration and Population Interaction Database (RAPID) data received from Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs, and British Nationals figures are based on the International Passenger Survey (IPS). See the Measuring the data section[3] for more detail. Thank you for your continued interest in our international migration estimates.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/ bulletins/longterminternationalmigrationprovisional/yearendingjune2022#migration-events
[2] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/ articles/internationalmigrationstatisticaldesignprogressreport/july2022
[3] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/ bulletins/longterminternationalmigrationprovisional/yearendingjune2022#measuring-the-data
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question: HL3965 and HL3966 are attached.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
Lord Green of Deddington
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
12 December 2022
Dear Lord Green,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many arrivals by (1) Ukrainians and their dependants, (2) Hong Kong BNOs and their dependants, and (3) Afghan citizens and their dependants, are included in the latest Office for National Statistics net migration figures, published on 24 November; and when the International Passenger Survey (IPS) stopped being used as a significant element in calculating net migration; and what has taken its place (HL3965;HL3966).
In the Office for National Statistics (ONS) bulletin published on 24 November, Section 4, Migration Events[1] details the following published Home Office data included in the ONS’ total long-term international migration estimates:
Ukrainians: around 89,000 arrived in the UK in the year to June 2022
Afghans: around 21,000 arrived in the UK in the year to June 2022
For British nationals overseas (BN(O)) status holders and their families from Hong Kong, colleagues from the ONS and the Home Office are working together to resolve how we identify those that are long-term international migrants in the data. Home Office statistics show that around 76,000 visas were issued for the BN(O) route in the year ending June 2022. This will represent the upper bound for arrivals, as not all of those with a visa will arrive in the UK or stay long term. The ONS is also working to identify BN(O) status holders in their International Passenger Survey (IPS) data using country of birth and country of last residences as this may help provide a more robust estimate. Current analysis suggests that 28,000 British nationals with a country of birth of Hong Kong immigrated into the UK in the year ending June 2022.
The long-term international migration data from the IPS was the largest component of the LongTerm International Migration (LTIM) estimates until its suspension in March 2020 because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In August 2020 the ONS announced that they would not return to producing official migration statistics from the IPS because it had been stretched beyond its original purpose. The ONS now focuses on measuring actual migration, as opposed to intentions, using primarily administrative data (admin-based migration estimates (ABMEs)). The ONS’ International migration statistical design progress report: July 2022 provides more information.[2]
For the latest long-term international migration estimates; non-EU figures are based on Home Office Border Systems data, EU figures are based on Registration and Population Interaction Database (RAPID) data received from Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs, and British Nationals figures are based on the International Passenger Survey (IPS). See the Measuring the data section[3] for more detail. Thank you for your continued interest in our international migration estimates.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/ bulletins/longterminternationalmigrationprovisional/yearendingjune2022#migration-events
[2] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/ articles/internationalmigrationstatisticaldesignprogressreport/july2022
[3] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/ bulletins/longterminternationalmigrationprovisional/yearendingjune2022#measuring-the-data
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Lord Green of Deddington
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
12 October 2021
Dear Lord Green,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question requesting data for how many UK households there were (1) with a non-UK born household reference person, (2) with a UK-born household reference person, and (3) with a household reference person for whom the country of birth was not known (HL2843).
The Office for National Statistics is responsible for undertaking the Labour Force Survey (LFS), from which these estimates of household reference person by country of birth have been derived. Table 1 shows the number of households by the household reference person’s country of birth in the UK from 2010 to 20201.
The table contains estimates of the number of households for household reference persons who are UK born, non-UK born or whose country of birth is missing. The totals of each column may not add up to the total households figure due to rounding, and estimates are rounded to the nearest hundred. As the estimates are based on a survey, they are subject to sampling variability. This is because the sample selected is only one of a large number of possible samples that could have been drawn from the population.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
1. A household reference person (HRP) is the householder who owns the accommodation; is legally responsible for the rent; or occupies the accommodation as reward of their employment, or through some relationship to its owner who is not a member of the household. If there are joint householders, the one with the highest income is the HRP. If their income is the same, then the eldest one is the HRP.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes data annually on the number of international students at UK higher education providers; they are available here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/where-from.
The table below shows the number of international student (non-UK domiciled) enrolments at UK higher education providers between the academic years 2015/16 and 2019/20, the latest year for which there is available data.
HE student enrolments of non-UK domicile students
Academic years 2015/16 to 2019/20
UK HE providers
Academic year | Non-UK domicile enrolments |
2015/16 | 443,320 |
2016/17 | 450,835 |
2017/18 | 469,205 |
2018/19 | 496,315 |
2019/20 | 556,625 |
The table above is available at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/sb258/figure-9.
The most recent update to the International Education Strategy, published in February 2021, reaffirms the government’s commitment to increase the value of our education exports to £35 billion per year, and sustainably to increase the number of international higher education students hosted in the UK to 600,000 per year, both by 2030.
The decision was made to delay the November 2021 release of the National Statistics publication of National Insurance numbers allocated to adult overseas nationals following an investigation involving HMRC where a technical issue was identified which work is now underway to rectify. Once the work is complete and the data has been validated, we will notify users of our plans to publish the statistical back series in line with the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice for Statistics.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for migration estimates and they announced in November 2021 their plan to include data from the DWP Registration And Population Interactions Dataset (RAPID) in their Administrative-Based Migration Estimates. The current RAPID data is not affected by this issue as it only covers the period to end March 2021.
All statistics produced by the Department for Work and Pensions are subject to routine quality assurance procedures before publication. During one of these procedures an underlying data issue was discovered in the quarterly National Statistics for ‘National Insurance number allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK’, which was due to be published on 25 November 2021. An assessment was made to understand the cause and identify if a solution could be swiftly implemented before the publication date. However, as it was not possible to do this, a decision was made to notify users both of the delay to the November release and that an update would be provided in January 2022.
The investigation is taking longer than first anticipated and will therefore impact the production of the next quarterly release of the statistics, so the update provided on 26 January 2022 informed users of the decision to suspend the release of the statistics. The statistical series will be reinstated as soon as possible after a solution is implemented, in line with the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice for Statistics and a further progress update will be provided in early April 2022.
The Department for Work and Pensions Kickstart Scheme is making £2 billion available to eligible employers and Kickstart gateways. This Government has not set a limit to the number of Kickstart jobs that can be funded.
The Kickstart Scheme is a £2 billion programme, planning to create thousands of new jobs for young people aged 16-24 at risk of long term unemployment. Whilst we will not limit our ambitions, our first priority is to ensure the quality of experiences created for young people.
The Government does not have plans to withdraw from the Refugee Convention and its Protocol.
The Government does not have plans to withdraw from the Refugee Convention and its Protocol.
Our offer to British Nationals (Overseas), (BN(O)s), is not about the numbers. The Government has taken decisive action to uphold our commitments to the people of Hong Kong. As previously stated, this scheme is for eligible BN(O) status holders and their immediate family dependants. We estimate that there are up to 2.9 million BN(O) status holders. In reality, a large number of those who are eligible will want to stay in Hong Kong or relocate to other countries in the region.
As the Foreign Secretary said on 21 July, we constantly assess the numbers of those expected to take up the bespoke immigration route for British Nationals (Overseas) (BN(O)s) and their dependants. We estimate that there are 2.9 million eligible for BN(O) passports. Of those, there are around 350,000 passport holders. Many of those who may be eligible will want to stay in Hong Kong, or relocate temporarily. The UK will honour its historic and moral responsibilities to BN(O)s.
As the Foreign Secretary said in Parliament on 1 July, we constantly assess the numbers of those expected to take up the bespoke immigration route which we will put in place for British Nationals (Overseas) (BN(O)s) and their dependants. We estimate that there are up to 2.9 million status holders eligible for BN(O) passports. Of those, there are around 350,000 passport holders.
However, we recognise that there will be people from Hong Kong who do not qualify for these new arrangements. The Foreign Secretary is coordinating closely with international partners, particularly those with specific and close relationships with Hong Kong, to discuss what support they might provide.
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility provides forecasts of the overall impact on economic growth of government policy, including those resulting from immigration policy. The next forecast will be provided on the 17th of November alongside the Autumn Statement.
It is not appropriate to provide commentary on specific scenarios, but the government does consider relevant impacts in assessing potential changes to immigration policy.
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility provides forecasts of the overall impact on economic growth of government policy, including those resulting from immigration policy. The next forecast will be provided on the 17th of November alongside the Autumn Statement.
It is not appropriate to provide commentary on specific scenarios, but the government does consider relevant impacts in assessing potential changes to immigration policy.
The total UK Net Public Sector Contributions to the EEC during the period 1973 to 1993, adjusted to real 2019 prices, is equal to £51.5bn. The total UK Net Public Sector Contributions to the EU during the remaining period 1994 to 2019, adjusted to real 2019 prices, is equal to £174.7bn. These figures do not include receipts received by private UK entities, which would reduce the UK’s net contributions.
The total UK Net Public Sector Contributions to the EU budget during the period 1991 to 2019, adjusted to real 2019 prices, is equal to £182.6 billion (average £6.3 billion per annum). This figure does not include receipts received by private UK entities, which would further reduce the UK’s net contribution.
Analytical work has been undertaken across Government to support decision making in this process, and an Impact Assessment will be developed in due course.
The Home Office believes that this information is readily available to the Peer online.
The Home Office publishes data on asylum applications in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ on GOV.UK. Data on asylum applications by nationality and applicant type are published in table Asy_D01 of the Asylum and resettlement detailed datasets: found here. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the end of March 2023.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ on GOV.UK.
The Illegal Migration Bill represents a considerably stronger means of tackling the same issue that the differentiation policy sought to address: people making dangerous and unnecessary journeys through safe countries to claim asylum in the UK.
As the Prime Minister has said, the Government remains committed to reducing net migration over time, while ensuring we have the skills our economy needs to grow. The Government continues to keep the immigration system under review.
Our immediate priority is getting a grip on illegal migration, to stop the abuse of our system and stop the boats making illegal, dangerous and unnecessary journeys across the Channel for the profits of criminal people smuggling gangs.
The Home Office is committed to publishing data as part of the immigration statistics quarterly release. The transparency data provides outstanding applications by specific route and can be found featured in the ‘Migration Transparency Data’ on the GOV.UK website.
The immigration statistics Data Tables for Work can be found at Migration Statistics – Immigration Statistics, year ending June 2022, using the link ‘Why do people come to the UK? Work’ section 3 ‘Data Tables’. This table, at ‘Vis_03a’ tab, provides the numbers of work entry clearance visa cases applied for, issued, and refused for the year ending June 2022. There have been 117,446 applications for entry clearance for work purposes by Indian nationals from June 2021-June 2022, with 110,816 visas granted. Further details can be found on GOV.UK, including archived statistics.
The statistics relating to in-country work visa applications (extensions) is available on GOV.UK per annum, covering each year since the transparency data reporting began in 2010: however it is not broken down by nationality.
We do not routinely publish any data on numbers of individuals that have overstayed their visa expiry in the UK.
Applications granted to main applicants of the ‘Skilled Worker’ visa
Quarter | Grants |
2020 Q4 | 429 |
2021 Q1 | 4,553 |
2021 Q2 | 6,682 |
2021 Q3 | 11,762 |
2021 Q4 | 12,602 |
2022 Q1 | 12,701 |
2022 Q2 | 14,844 |
Total | 63,573 |
Applications granted to main applications of the ‘Skilled Worker – Health & Care’ visa
Quarter | Grants |
2020 Q4 | 689 |
2021 Q1 | 6,771 |
2021 Q2 | 5,815 |
2021 Q3 | 8,684 |
2021 Q4 | 10,530 |
2022 Q1 | 12,411 |
2022 Q2 | 15,646 |
Total | 60,546 |
There is no published data that links the entry clearance visas granted in these categories to the respective RQF classifications.
A small number of the most vulnerable refugees in Rwanda will be resettled in the UK as part of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership.
More details on the resettlement of vulnerable refugees will be set out in due course. The partnership between the UK and Rwanda is now underway and is expected to last for at least five years.
There are ongoing discussions between P&O Ferries and HM Government.
It is the Government’s policy that all migrants coming to work in UK territorial waters (i.e., 12 nautical miles), or on the UK landmass, need permission to work unless exemptions apply. Conversely, if they are working outside of UK territorial waters then permission to work is not required.
Seafarers who earn a living by working on a ship such as seamen or crew members do not need permission to work if they are in transit (under contract) to join a ship or are in transit as part of a crew, subject to entry requirements.
The Common Travel Area (CTA) supports the long-standing principle of movement for British and Irish citizens between the UK, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Ireland.
As now, the UK will not operate routine immigration controls on journeys from within the CTA. There are no border controls for travel within the UK including from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.
The Home Office publishes data on the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) in the 'EU Settlement Scheme Statistics', which can be found on gov.uk.
The latest published information on EUSS applications concluded to 30 September 2021, can be found in tables EUSS_03_UK: (EU Settlement Scheme: concluded applications by outcome type and nationality - UK total) and EUSS_MON, Table 5: (EU Settlement Scheme – Repeat applicants moving from Pre-settled to Settled status), in the Annex.
A person granted pre-settled status under the EUSS can apply for settled status as soon as they qualify for this. Applicants who have completed five years’ continuous residence, or where other criteria for settled status without that length of continuous residence are met, are eligible for settled status.
The Home Office cannot assess a person’s eligibility for settled status until they make an application to the EUSS, and therefore cannot state how many of those granted pre-settled status or who are yet to apply to the scheme will be eligible for settled status in the period sought.
The published Detention Services Order 08/2012 sets out the Home Office’s policy on detained individuals’ possession of mobile phones in immigration removal centres.
To enable contact with friends, family and legal representatives, where individuals do not have a suitable mobile phone, Home Office suppliers can provide temporary access to basic model mobile phones for individuals in detention, or those awaiting initial processing. These mobile phones are returned when individuals leave the respective centre.
No mobile phones are provided in Initial Asylum Accommodation, however; individuals can request a data sim card which enables internet access, for use during their stay.
Data is published as part of the Migrant Journey report in dataset MJ_D02, which contains grants of settlement by initial leave category.
Details for the last 10 years for study are below:
Sum of Total | Column Labels |
Row Labels | Study |
2011 | 27,375 |
2012 | 23,364 |
2013 | 32,126 |
2014 | 25,694 |
2015 | 26,668 |
2016 | 17,663 |
2017 | 18,176 |
2018 | 26,622 |
2019 | 27,625 |
2020 | 16,764 |
Grand Total | 242,077 |
The use of e-Gates is a secure and efficient way of crossing the border.
In addition to British and Irish citizens aged 12 and over, who can use e-Gates to enter the UK for any purpose, citizens aged 12 and over of the countries named in the Schedule to the Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) Order 2000, as amended, are eligible to seek entry to the UK using an e-Gate for the purpose of short visits. The list of countries can be found online under the ‘Amendment of the Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) Order 2000’ on the legislation.gov.uk website.
We also operate the Registered Traveller service, where regular, compliant visitors to the UK and those with long term entry clearance can apply for membership which allows them to seek entry using an e-Gate once they have passed initial checks and been examined by a Border Force officer (BFO) on their next entry to the UK. The list of countries whose citizens are currently eligible to apply for membership of the RTS can be viewed on gov.uk
In terms of preventing illegal working and overstaying those who enter using an e-Gate and go on to work illegally or overstay will be identified in the same way as those who are granted leave to enter by an entry clearance officer or BFO.
We continue to monitor reports and trends of immigration abuse across the immigration system, including of illegal working and overstaying to ensure the immigration system continues to operate in the national interest.
The Government strongly wishes to attract international students to study in the UK. They enhance our educational institutions both financially and culturally; they enrich the experience of domestic students; and they can become important ambassadors for the United Kingdom in later life. The Graduate route significantly enhances our offer to international students and the attractiveness of the UK as a world-leading destination for higher education.
The Government at the time, set out its response to the recommendation of the Migration Advisory Committee. However, following the UK’s exit from the EU and the launch of our new points-based system, the introduction of the Graduate route demonstrates our global outlook and support for the UK’s education sector. The route will also help us realise our ambition, as set out in the International Education Strategy, to increase UK education exports to £35 billion and the number of international higher education students to 600,000 by 2030.
This Government has set out its assessment of the impact of the route. This can be found on the gov.uk website or through the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-changes-to-the-immigration-rules-hc-1248-4-march-2021
Our new Graduate route demonstrates our determination to attract the brightest and best talent from around the world to study and then work in the UK.
A full economic impact assessment for the Graduate Route was published on 4 March 2021 and features a section on the expected labour market impact of the route. This can be found on the gov.uk website or through the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-changes-to-the-immigration-rules-hc-1248-4-march-2021
Such data is not currently held in a reportable way and to gather it could only be achieved at a disproportionate cost.
Such data is not currently held in a reportable way and to gather it could only be achieved at a disproportionate cost.
The Home Office publishes data on the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) in the ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics’.
The latest published information on EUSS applications received and applications concluded to 30 June 2021, by Local Authority can be found in tables EUSS_LA_01, EUSS_LA_02 and EUSS_LA_03 (see attached) available at:
EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics, June 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Home Office publishes data on the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) in the ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics’.
The latest published information on EUSS applications concluded to 30 June 2021, by nationality and outcome type can be found in table EUSS_03_UK available at: EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics, June 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
EUSS_03_UK: EU Settlement Scheme: concluded applications by outcome type and nationality, 28 August 2018 to 30 June 2021 - UK total |
| |||||
Country of nationality | Total | of which are Settled | of which are Pre-settled | of which are Refused | of which are Withdrawn or Void | of which are Invalid |
Total | 5,444,550 | 2,846,820 | 2,327,850 | 109,430 | 80,600 | 79,730 |
Total EU 27 | 5,065,570 | 2,725,830 | 2,103,510 | 94,800 | 68,010 | 73,330 |
The vast majority of EUSS applications are associated with a UK address, although there is no requirement to give a UK address and applications can be made in-country or in some cases from overseas. In our latest publication, we reported that “total applications include small numbers of records (1.6%) where locational data is not currently in an analysable form from live systems.” This proportion includes applications associated with a non-UK address.
(1),(2)
The Home Office publishes data on visas and the British National Overseas (BN(O)) route in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’ on GOV.UK:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
The data relates to the first and second quarter of 2021, January to June, and are derived from management information. These statistics include data on main applicants and dependants and are rounded to the nearest hundred. Data for Q3 2021 will be published on 25 November 2021.
(3)
The table below provides the number of British National (Overseas) passports issued to customers each month since January 2021. *
Month | BNO Passports Issued |
January | 13,315 |
February | 8,217 |
March | 7,032 |
April | 4,747 |
May | 4,192 |
June | 3,141 |
July | 2,728 |
August | 5,613 |
*These figures are correct at the time of reporting and subject to change.
Since 1 January 2021 the UK has not participated in EU Readmission Agreements with third countries. We are no longer party to these agreements. Where appropriate we are looking to transition to new bilateral agreements with third countries.
Bilaterally outside of the EU, the UK has a range of returns arrangements with receiving countries including bilateral MoU, formal readmission agreements and informal operational arrangements which provide the basis for administrative removal and deportation of own country nationals.
Formal immigration returns arrangements are in place with following countries:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, China, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Iraq, Kuwait, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Korea, South Sudan, Switzerland, Vietnam.
As an EU Member State, the UK participated in 14 of the 18 EU Readmission Agreements. These were with: Pakistan, Georgia, Serbia, Albania, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Macao and Hong Kong.
Bilaterally outside of the EU, the UK has a range of returns arrangements with receiving countries including bilateral MoU, formal readmission agreements and informal operational arrangements which provide the basis for administrative removal and deportation of own country nationals.
Formal immigration returns arrangements are in place with following countries:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, China, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Iraq, Kuwait, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Korea, South Sudan, Switzerland, Vietnam.
As an EU Member State, the UK participated in 14 of the 18 EU Readmission Agreements. These were with: Pakistan, Georgia, Serbia, Albania, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Macao and Hong Kong.
We are currently in discussions with a number of third countries regarding the transition of existing EURAs the UK participated in, into bilateral returns agreements, along with creating other new relationships with third countries.
A person granted pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme can apply for settled status as soon as they qualify for this. Applicants who have completed five years’ continuous residence, or where other criteria for eligibility for settled status without the length of continuous residence are met, are eligible for settled status.
The Home Office cannot assess a person’s eligibility for settled status until they make an application to the scheme, and therefore cannot state how many of those granted pre-settled status or who are yet to apply to the scheme will be eligible for settled status in the period sought.
A person granted pre-settled status can apply for settled status as soon as they qualify for this. They will be eligible for settled status once they have completed five years’ continuous residence or where other criteria for eligibility for settled status without that length of continuous residence are met.
The Home Office cannot assess a person’s eligibility for settled status until they make an application to the scheme.
The new Hong Kong BN(O) route was launched on 31 January 2021, with the new digital application launching on 23 February.
As of 19 March 2021, approximately 27,000 BN(O) status holders and their family members have applied for the route.
Further breakdown of the application numbers and updated figures will be published as part of the the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’, the next update is due for publication on 27 May 2021 and will be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
The latest published information on EU Settlement Scheme applications and outcomes can be found in the Home Office’s ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics’ monthly publication, which is available at:
EU Settlement Scheme statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Impact Assessment for the EU Settlement Scheme (March 2019) is available at:
This discussed the assumptions, risks, uncertainties and exclusions surrounding its estimate of eligible citizens and made clear it should be considered as indicative and not as minimum and maximum estimates.
| 20/21 | 19/20 | 18/19 | 17/18 | 16/17 |
Arrests | 129 | 16 | 42 | 57 | 209 |
Charges | 116 | 13 | 24 | 48 | 154 |
Convictions | 48 | 11 | 23 | 48 | 117 |
On 31 January, the Home Office launched the new Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route. The route will enable BN(O) status holders and their eligible family members to come to the UK to live, work and study.
As set out in the published impact assessment, our central estimates of those who will take up this offer range between 123,000 and 153,700 BN(O) status holders and their dependants coming in the first year and between 258,000 and 322,400 over five years. Details of the impact assessment can be found at:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2020/70/pdfs/ukia_20200070_en.pdf
We have communicated the expectation throughout the development of the route; applicants should be self-sufficient and economically active. Part of the integration planning for the new BN(O) route includes access to support materials to help BN(O) status holders find work. There are no minimum skill levels or salary thresholds on this route as it comes with a general right to work in the UK.
There is no English language requirement when applying for the BN(O) route so this aspect is not assessed, although English is commonly used in Hong Kong.
The government looks forward to welcoming applications from those British National (Overseas) who wish to make our United Kingdom their home.