Hongkongers who were minors at the time of the 1997 handover to China will be eligible to apply for the British National (Overseas) pathway to UK citizenship independently of their parents, with 26,000 arrivals expected under the expanded scheme in the next five years.
The move was a response to the 20-year prison sentence handed to former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying for convictions of national security-related charges in the city on Monday morning.
In a statement on Monday, the Home Office, Britainโs interior ministry, said the expansion of the scheme โhonours the UKโs historic commitment to the people of Hong Kongโ following the โcontinuing deterioration of rights and freedomsโ in the former British colony.
โAdult children of [BN(O)] status holders who were under 18 at the time of Hong Kongโs 1997 handover to China will now be eligible to apply for the route independently of their parents,โ the statement said.
โTheir partners and children will also be able to move to the UK under the expanded route,โ the Home Office statement read, adding that it expected 26,000 people to arrive in the UK over the next five years.
In a reply to the South China Morning Post, a Home Office communication officer confirmed that Mondayโs changes meant the eligibility was now further expanded to cover those Hongkongers born between 1979 and 1997 whose parents did not apply to the BN(O) scheme for them before the handover.