British National (Overseas)

E938865

British National (Overseas) is a type of British nationality created for certain Hong Kong residents before the 1997 handover, offering consular protection and, more recently, a dedicated immigration route to the United Kingdom.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf class of nationality
type of British nationality
administeredBy His Majesty's Passport Office
Home Office
appliesTo British Dependent Territories citizens connected with Hong Kong
Hong Kong residents
BN(O)VisaRouteGrants pathway to British citizenship after residence
pathway to settlement in the United Kingdom
BN(O)VisaRouteStartTime 2021-01-31
canBeHeldWith Chinese nationality under PRC law
canBeInherited no, status is not generally transmissible to new generations
categoryWithin British nationality law
citizenshipType non-patrial British nationality
country United Kingdom
createdBy British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1985
United Kingdom Parliament
linked to: British Parliament
createdFor Hong Kong residents before the 1997 handover
doesNotGrant automatic right of abode in Hong Kong
automatic right of abode in the United Kingdom
eligibilityRequirement must have been a British Dependent Territories citizen by connection with Hong Kong
must have registered before the 1997 handover
endOfNewRegistrations 1997-06-30
geopoliticalContext Sino–British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong
governingLaw British Nationality Act 1981 as amended
grants British passport eligibility
UK consular protection outside Hong Kong and mainland China
access to certain UK visa and immigration routes
hasImmigrationRoute BN(O) visa route to the United Kingdom
hasLanguage Chinese
English
legalStatus British nationality without right of abode in the United Kingdom
does not automatically confer British citizenship
does not automatically confer right of abode in Hong Kong
notRecognizedAs foreign nationality by Chinese government within mainland China and Hong Kong
passportIssuingAuthority His Majesty's Passport Office
passportType British National (Overseas) passport
populationEstimate over 2.5 million people eligible at creation
recognizedBy United Kingdom government
linked to: UK government
registrationDeadline 1997-06-30
relatedTo British Overseas Territories citizen
British Overseas citizen
British citizen
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport
linked to: HKSAR passport
shortName BN(O)
startTime 1987
stillValidAfterHandover yes
successorTo British Dependent Territories citizen status for Hong Kong
territorialConnection Hong Kong
linked to: Hong Kong, China

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (10)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

British nationality law governs British National (Overseas)
British citizenship coexistsWith British National (Overseas)
British overseas territories citizenship distinctFrom British National (Overseas)
British passport eligibleHolder British National (Overseas)
Appendix Hong Kong BN(O) appliesTo British National (Overseas) status holders
linked to: British National (Overseas)
Appendix Hong Kong BN(O) hasBeneficiaryGroup British National (Overseas) citizens from Hong Kong
linked to: British National (Overseas)
British people usesCitizenship British National (Overseas)
British Overseas citizenship distinctFrom British National (Overseas)
British Dependent Territories citizenship holderMayAlsoBe British National (Overseas)
subject linked to: BDTC
British Dependent Territories citizenship isDistinctFrom British National (Overseas)
subject linked to: BDTC