BNO settlement rules exempt applicants under 18 from five year residence
12 Oct 2026
If you are on the Hong Kong BN(O) route and have a child under 18 who plans to settle, this update is worth reading. The Home Office updated the Hong Kong BN(O) appendix of the Immigration Rules on 8 October 2026, in line with Statement of Changes HC 584.
The settlement rule (HK 62.1) now says an applicant must have spent "a continuous period of 5 years with permission in the UK on a route under which a person can settle, unless they are aged under 18 at the date of application". In plain terms, the five year continuous residence requirement does not apply to someone who is under 18 on the day they apply.
The rule looks at the applicant's age on the date of application. The same rule also says the applicant's most recent grant of permission must have been on the Hong Kong BN(O) route. The page does not set out other conditions for under 18s in the part we reviewed, so check the full appendix before you plan an application.
Read the current wording of the appendix on GOV.UK and the explanatory text in Statement of Changes HC 584 to see how this applies to your family. This post is general information, not legal advice.
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