How to apply for a 5-year British permanent residence BNO visa? Four major points in 2026

At the end of January 2021, the first batch of BN(O) visa holders landed in the UK. If you count on your fingers, this year - 2026 - will be exactly five years. This means that a large number of Hong Kong families can submit applications for permanent residence (ILR) this year. The British Home Office’s own forecast is also very straightforward: 2026 to 2027 will usher in the peak of for the concentrated transfer of BN(O) groups to permanent residence.

If you are among this group of people, or your family is waiting in line for this day, this article will explain clearly the four key points that will really make it difficult for people to transfer from BN(O) to permanent residence. These are all current rules checked on GOV.UK. 🇬🇧

1. The first hurdle for permanent residence in the UK: continuous residence for 5 years

BN(O) follows the standard five-year Settlement path. There is only one core condition: has lived in the UK for 5 consecutive years with BN(O) visa and . "Continuous" here does not mean that you cannot leave the UK, but that your legal stay is not interrupted and the number of days you have left the country is within the specified range.

A small benefit that is easily overlooked: you don’t have to wait until 5 years to submit on the same day. can apply for within 28 days before the expiry of 5 years at the earliest. For example, if you enter the country on March 10, 2021, you can theoretically click submit around February 10, 2026. Don’t wait stupidly, you can get your status 28 days earlier.

2. Number of days of permanent residence abroad: 180 days is the annual red line

This is where BN(O) is most likely to overturn when transferring to permanent residence. The rule is: cannot leave the country for more than 180 days in any 12-month period.

Pay attention to the words "any 12 months". It is not calculated based on the natural year (January to December), but is calculated on a rolling basis of and - pushed forward from the day of application. In any continuous 12-month window, the outbound period cannot exceed 180 days.

Many people have fallen into this trap: they worked honestly for the first four years, but in the fifth year they went back to Hong Kong for more than half a year because of family matters. As a result, a certain rolling window exceeded 180 days when superimposed. This super period may need to be recalculated in five years. How does it count as "a day"? The rules stipulate that 12 noon to 12 midnight is a whole day, and fractions less than 24 hours (such as the day of departure) will be handled according to the detailed rules. The safe way is to write down the date of each entry and exit .

There are indeed exemptions in the rules - departures due to assisting major overseas humanitarian or environmental crises, or encountering natural disasters, military conflicts, or epidemics that cause travel disruptions will not be counted. But these are exceptions, so don’t expect them to tell the whole story. If you are not sure about the number of days to leave the country, you can use the 永居计算器 APP to calculate the days to , which is much more reliable than manual counting.

3. Mandatory examination for permanent residence: Life in the UK + B1 English

Applicants aged 18 to 64 must pass two levels (unless exempt):

👉 Life in the UK Test: 24 multiple-choice questions, testing British history, culture, and legal knowledge. Answer 18 questions correctly to pass. You can retake the exam as many times as you want, but it costs about £50 each time, so don’t take it naked.

👉 English reaches B1 level (listening and speaking). You can take B1 and above examinations from institutions recognized by the Ministry of Home Affairs; if you have a degree taught/researched in English (not limited to the UK, overseas English-taught degrees are also acceptable), you can also use your degree to satisfy the requirements.

Good news: In March 2026, the Ministry of Home Affairs tightened the language thresholds for some visas, but Hong Kong Watch has confirmed that the language requirements for the BN(O) path are not affected by this round of increases and are still B1. Don’t be frightened by the rumors of “getting to B2”.

It is recommended that these two exams be completed before five years, and do not leave it until the last month. Both electronic and paper copies of test scores must be kept.

4. Permanent residence fee in 2026: £3226 per person

From 8 April 2026, the application fee for ILR is £3,226 per person for . Note that it is "per person" - four servings for a family of four. This is a big expense and must be prepared in advance. If you want to expedite the procedure, you can pay an additional Priority service fee (approximately £500) for faster results.

Normal trials generally produce results within within 6 months. Passport documents will be held after submission. If you have travel plans in the next six months, you should plan in advance or consider expedited access. The fees and expedited prices will be adjusted by the Ministry of Interior. Please refer to the latest announcement of GOV.UK before proceeding.