The UK Home Office announced that it received 18,100 BN(O) visa applications in the second quarter of this year, down 7% quarter-on-quarter, while 19,465 applications were granted in the same period. Since the implementation of the BN(O) visa program on January 31 last year to June 30 this year, 140,500 BN(O) visa applications have been received, and 133,124 applications have been approved during the same period, of which 110,504 are applications outside the UK. There were 22,620 applications from within the UK.
The Home Office said of the 18,100 visa applications made in the second quarter of this year, 17,406 were from outside the UK, while the remaining 700 were from within the UK. Of the many applications, 10,600 were principal applicants and another 7,500 were applications for dependants status.
The Home Office also mentioned that in the second quarter of 2022, 18,587 BN(O) visas had been granted for applications outside the UK, of which 11,072 were in principal applicant status and 7,515 in dependant status. In addition, 878 BN(O) visas were granted in the UK during the quarter, with 473 being principal applicants and 405 being dependants. In the second quarter of this year, 89 people were refused BN(O) visas outside the UK, and seven were refused BN(O) visas (refusals) within the UK, for no reason.
According to the Home Office, since the BN(O) visa scheme began, 64% of applicants are BN(O) and/or HKSAR passport holders. In addition, 77% of dependant applications held passports other than BN(O) and/or HKSAR passports, including 75% of them holding Chinese passports.
The UK government has allowed holders of BN(O) and/or HKSAR passports to enter the UK on a “leave outside the rules” (LOTR) form upon arrival at the UK border, and then re-apply for a BN(O) visa, Home Office guidelines state Managing sector figures, 8,350 people entered the UK as LOTRs in 2021.
British Home Secretary Peng Dailing said in early August to apply for the expansion of the visa program, pointing out that from this autumn, any Hong Kong person over the age of 18 who was born following July 1, 1997 and one of his parents has a BN(O) qualification can apply for BN(O) independently. ) visa, describing the British government’s continued demonstration of Britain’s historical and moral commitment to Hong Kong people.
The Census and Statistics Department announced that the provisional figure of Hong Kong’s population this year is regarding 7.29 million, a decrease of regarding 120,000 or 1.6% compared with a year ago. As for the net emigration of Hong Kong residents, it will be 20,900 in mid-2020, 89,200 in mid-2021, and 95,000 in mid-2022. The government pointed out that the net migration covers the movement of Hong Kong residents in and out of Hong Kong for the purpose of work, study and immigration, and there is no breakdown of the figures. It also pointed out that there are no direct statistics on the migration of Hong Kong people to other places. It said that Hong Kong, as an international city, has always been very mobile. high.