Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of British National (Overseas) passport holders and their dependants who may apply to work in the UK; and how many of these would meet the English language requirements that apply to migrants from elsewhere.

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.