By South China Morning Post
Publication Date: 2025-11-20 13:44:00
The biggest shake-up of Britain’s immigration system in almost half a century will not affect Hong Kongers’ five-year path to permanent settlement, the UK government has said.
The British government on Thursday revealed a major change to its profile for legal migrants, prioritizing those who contribute to the UK economy and play by the rules, days after announcing the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in decades.
The government previously announced it would double the qualifying period for permanent settlement for migrants to 10 years, with reduced waits for those who made “a major contribution to British life”.
UK authorities said immediate family members of UK citizens and Hong Kongers under the British National (Overseas) scheme were among those who would maintain the existing five-year path to a deal.
The changes will apply to almost 2 million migrants arriving in the UK since 2021, subject to consultations on transitional arrangements for borderline cases.
The measures will not apply to those with existing settled status who have made their lives there.