Hongkongers with British National (Overseas) passports will soon no longer need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to travel to the UK, a minister has said.

In a March 5 letter to David Alton, a member of the House of Lords, Minister for Migration and Citizenship Seema Malhotra said that having reviewed the ETA policy and “having listened to evidence,” the British government decided that ETAs would soon no longer be necessary for BNO passport holders.

“This decision has been made on the basis of the close ties with the BN(O) community has with the UK, the historical commitment made to them, and critically, the fact that… it is the UK issuing their travel documents (which results in a higher degree of certainty in the identity of an individual, without requiring them to make this additional application),” Malhotra said.

“The Home Office will amend the Immigration Rules to this effect at the earliest opportunity.”

From January 8, passport holders from 54 countries and territories – including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan – are required to have an ETA to visit or transit through the UK.

BNO passports

BNO passports were issued to Hongkongers born before the city’s Handover to China on July 1, 1997, as a compromise between Beijing and London. They did not previously confer any right to settle permanently in Britain.

In January 2021, as a response to the enactment of the Beijing-imposed national security law, the UK launched a scheme allowing BNO passport holders and their dependants to apply for permanent settlement following a five-year stay in Britain, and for citizenship after the sixth year. Shortly after, China said it would no longer recognise the passports.

In late 2022, the UK started to allow adults born after the Handover – who have at least one parent as a BNO passport holder – to settle in the UK.

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