Hong Kong demand for British visas plunges

LONDON. The number of Hong Kong residents applying for a path to UK citizenship fell 44 per cent in the third quarter, showing that demand for the program is waning almost two years after it was created. Some 10,100 British National (Overseas) passport holders applied for the special long-term visas between July and September, according to data released Thursday by the UK Home Office. That represents the smallest amount number in a three-month period since London began taking applications in January 2021.

The UK has so far received 150,600 visa applications under the BN(O) program, slightly less than halfway to the 320,000 that the government estimated would apply in the first five years. About 98 per cent of applications received have been approved.

The recent fall in BN(0) applications coincided with mounting concerns about inflation in the UK, although the period largely predates the fiscal turmoil that crashed the pound.