BNO Help

[maaria]

Hi, I am BNO passport holder. I am currenly in UAE. I want to move to the U.K and be able to live and work there? what is the process? I am very confused as some people say i have the right to stay in the UK and others don't agree. Please help!

[ppron747]

BN(O)s are "subject to immigration control" - you can visit the UK without needing to apply for a visa in advance. But you cannot settle in UK unless you qualify under the Immigration Rules. For more information on the Rules, have a look through http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk.

[maaria]

Thank 747!

I went thru the link u posted in the other post. I'm still a bit confused about when and where from i should apply... i'll go thru the links again..

Thanks again!

[ppron747]

The perils of posting two topics when one would suffice!!

The link I gave you in the other post was to a provision that enables BN(O)s (and some other categories of British national) to be registered as British citizens - but only if they live in UK for five years (legally) and have "indefinite leave to remain" (=permanent residence) in UK for a year. So it does not apply to the vast majority of BN(O)s, because they are generally only able to visit UK - not to settle here.

You may be eligible for a Working Holidaymaker visa, which would enable you to come for 2 years, but this doesn't lead to settlement here - have a look at the UKVisas website for more details on that.

Otherwise (depending on your skills) you could look and see whether you could qualify for a work permit - see http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk for more information.

[JAJ]

Hi, I am BNO passport holder. I am currenly in UAE. I want to move to the U.K and be able to live and work there? what is the process? I am very confused as some people say i have the right to stay in the UK and others don't agree. Please help!

Are you a Chinese citizen as well as BNO? Or are you solely BNO?

[maaria]

Solely a BNO citizen..

am not highly skilled either <> had to drop out in the final year of my studies!

Thanks again ppron747.. your advise has been very helpful. I'm still confused as to how one can live in the UK (legally) for 5 years. I mean what visa would they have applied for? and can i live in/work in the UK and just exit-reenter every 6 months? (i really can't see that as being legal?).

I'm going to look into this holiday worker visa now. thanks

[ppron747]

Cheers maaria

When you say you are solely a BN(O), I'm not sure what you mean - do you have a claim to another citizenship, even though you don't hold the passport of another country? eg could you get an HKSAR passport if you were to apply for one?

I don't want to pry, but I guess that what JAJ had in mind when asking was a provision whereby some people who are solely British nationals can be registered as British citizens - the details are on the British Consulate-General's website, here, but the following is an extract -

British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997

If you think you qualify under this legislation you may submit an application at the Consular Section of the British Consulate General in Hong Kong to register for British Citizenship. The main requirements under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997 for Ethnic Minority Citizenship are:

* You had to be ordinarily resident in Hong Kong on 04 February 1997
* You have to be ordinarily resident in Hong Kong at the time of your application
* You must hold no other nationality or citizenship except British nationality, either as a British National (Overseas), British Overseas Citizen, British Protected Person, British Subject or as a former British Dependant Territories Citizen of Hong Kong.

BN(O)s of Chinese ethnic origin are entitled to Chinese nationality and do not qualify.

It might be worth a look, if you're not of Chinese ethnic origin, and can prove that you have no claim to another citizenship.

[maaria]

I hold another passport (pakistani).. but have lived in HK.. I guess i fall under the ethnic minority. My father was serving under the British Government there when i was born.

Does this complicate things a bit? it did for the embassy when I called them today.. turns out i might be entitled.. then not entitled.. and then i need to present a case to them.

[ppron747]

Interesting!

I think the answer is that you shouldn't be holding a Pakistani passport... Pakistan has an odd attitude to dual nationality - it objects to it, except that Pakistanis are able to be British citizens without losing their Pakistani citizenship. They are not, however, able to hold any of the other categories of British nationality. That is according to the staff instructions on the IND website. The link is here, and the particular paragraph reads:-

6. Dual nationality
6.1 Dual nationality is not permitted. A citizen of Pakistan who is, at the same time, a citizen of some other country ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan unless that other citizenship is renounced.

6.2 There is an exception for people holding certain other nationalities, including British citizenship, but this exception does not extend to any of the other forms of British nationality.

HOWEVER there is a special provision for minors:-

8. Minors
8.1 Minors (i.e. persons under 21 years of age) who qualify for Pakistani citizenship are exempt from the ban on dual nationality if they acquire another citizenship as long as their fathers do not cease to be citizens of Pakistan:
• automatically as a result of acquiring a second citizenship; or
• due to renunciation of Pakistani citizenship

8.2 However, if the father ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan, the minor automatically loses Pakistani citizenship at the same time.

So, assuming you meet the other requirements laid down in the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997, I think your chances of success will depend entirely on how old you were on 4 February 1997.

If you were over 21 on 4.2.97, then it seems to me that you were no longer a Pakistani, and that you therefore qualify for registration as a British citizen.

But if you were still under 21 at that time, you were presumably still a Pakistani, and therefore can't qualify for registration because you weren't solely British on the important date.

Does that help at all?

[JAJ]

But if you were still under 21 at that time, you were presumably still a Pakistani, and therefore can't qualify for registration because you weren't solely British on the important date.

If the original poster was still under 21 on 4 Feb 1997, there might still be a chance of qualifying if it could be shown that the father became a naturalised BDTC in Hong Kong.

Although the Home Office NIs don't say what Pakistan's attitude would have been to an acquisition of Citizenship of the UK & Colonies in Hong Kong before the introduction of BDTC in 1983.

[ppron747]

To be honest, I don't really understand how the position described on the IND website was arrived at - which was why I was careful to link to IND so that at least their understanding of it was in the open - whether they're actually right or not!

The position of the 1951 Act was simply no dual nationality, except when the other citizenship is CUKC. I haven't been able to track down any amendments to this position.

Now, according to IND the only form of British nationality that is tolerated is British citizenship - the only one that carries with it the right of abode in UK - and the holding of any of the other categories by an adult results in loss of Pakistani citizenship.

I just don't understand this; given that CUKC ceased to exist at midnight on 31 December 1983, I can only think of two ways that this could have logically been addressed:

1. All of the successors to CUKC should be accepted, or
2. None of the successors to CUKC should be accepted.

I can't see how you can go down a middle route, accepting one but not the others, without changing the law. If it is something to do with the right of abode in UK, then what is the position of someone of Pakistani origin who registered as a CUKC in Hong Kong between 1973 and 1982? The law says that Pakistanis were allowed to hold CUKC, so that means he doesn't lose his Pakistani citizenship. But on 1.1.83, he (involuntarily) becomes a BDTC. Does that mean he loses his Pakistani citizenship on that day? Pakistani law doesn't say so, but that's the implication of the IND website - to me, at least....

[maaria]

If the original poster was still under 21 on 4 Feb 1997, there might still be a chance of qualifying if it could be shown that the father became a naturalised BDTC in Hong Kong.

Although the Home Office NIs don't say what Pakistan's attitude would have been to an acquisition of Citizenship of the UK & Colonies in Hong Kong before the introduction of BDTC in 1983.

I was under 21 at the time.. but my father didnot hold a BDTC. My mother is chinese by birth but had given up her BNO for a Pakistani passport.

[ppron747]

Sadlly, I think that rules out any possibility of registering as a BC under the BN(HK) Act - your age means that that you were almost certainly dual Pakistani/British on 4.2.97...

Really sorry

[JAJ]

Sadlly, I think that rules out any possibility of registering as a BC under the BN(HK) Act - your age means that that you were almost certainly dual Pakistani/British on 4.2.97...

And if the original poster's mother was Chinese, wouldn't there be a chance she's also a Chinese citizen even if she doesn't hold a HKSAR passport?

[ppron747]

Yes - I'm sure you're right - but Maaria's dual British/Pakistani nationality on the crucial date is enough to rule out any BN(HK)A application on its own, without needing to explore the tortuous question of how chinese you have to be to be Chinese, I think.....

[maaria]

Thanks everyone.. I think i'll be talking to an immigration consultant soon.. and also start looking into maybe finishing off my degree and going the skilled person visa.. Thank again