UK eases BN(O) visa barriers for Hong Kong protesters convicted over 2019 unrest

The UK government has confirmed that convictions linked to Hong Kong’s 2019 protests should generally not prevent otherwise eligible applicants from using the British National (Overseas) visa scheme, following reports that several convicted protesters had their applications rejected.

In a letter on Wednesday to Alex Sobel, chairman of the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said there would now be a “presumption in favour” of ensuring that protest-related convictions did not prevent otherwise eligible applicants from using the scheme.

“The government recognises that many of those involved in the protests are among the individuals the route was intended to support,” she said.