How is the five-year BNO settlement calculated? The years on a student visa are not counted.

I have two documents spread out in front of me. One is the Ministry of the Interior’s fee schedule, effective from 8 April 2026; the two lines for the BN(O) route are very brief: 30 months, £206; 5 years, £285. The other is the page on permanent residence: £3,226, charged per person, with spouses and children each counted as a separate application.

Five years lie between these two pieces of paper. In this article, I’ll walk you through the process in the order it actually took place: first, work out the exact dates; then check for any omissions; next, verify the route itself; followed by the exam; and finally, the documents required on the day of submission.

From which date does the five-year period begin, and which periods are not included in this five-year period?

The permanent residence requirements for the BN(O) route stipulate that the applicant must hold a valid authorisation in the UK and have been on a path leading to permanent residence for five consecutive years (HC 584 revised the wording of this provision to ‘on a path leading to permanent residence’ with effect from 8 October 2026). The key lies in the phrase ‘leading to permanent residence’: the BN(O) route itself, the Skilled Worker route and the Spouse route all count; however, the Student, Graduate and Youth Mobility routes do not lead to permanent residence, and not a single day spent on these counts towards the five-year period. Here is a common scenario: entering the UK in early 2021 on an BN(O) visa, studying for a one-year Master’s degree, returning to work for one year on a Graduate visa, and then switching back to an BN(O) visa. Although the person has been in the UK continuously, the expiry date for the five-year period must be pushed back by two years. There is another point that must also be checked first: the most recent permit must have been obtained under the BN(O) route at ; otherwise, this application for permanent residence cannot be submitted, and the period must be calculated separately based on the route currently held.

Days abroad: No more than 180 days in any 12-month period

BN(O) is on the list of applicable routes in Appendix Continuous Residence, so the 180-day rule applies to it. Absences starting after April 11, 2024, will be assessed based on any rolling 12-month window, not reset once per visa year or natural year. Trips such as returning to Hong Kong to take care of family or visiting for long holidays are most likely to be counted twice in two windows. It's much easier to track by day from the moment of arrival rather than looking back before submission. The 永居计算器 APP can list the rolling window day by day, or you can make your own table; the key is to record dates rather than estimated total days.

Is it necessary to switch back first if you changed your work permit in the middle?

This is my judgment, divided into two cases.

If any of the employer license or salary threshold for your work visa is keeping you up at night, you should switch back to the BN(O) route and apply for permanent residency six to nine months before completing five years, instead of sticking with your work visa until it expires. Those years on the work visa still count toward the five years, they won't be invalidated; the BN(O) route has no salary threshold, isn't tied to an employer, and English still only needs to be B1, which has far fewer variables. The BN(O) route allows applying within the UK, with the same fee as applying from outside, switching back to a 30-month tier is £206 plus IHS (adult £1,035 per year). Conversely, if your work visa is stable, salary meets the requirements, and only a few months remain before it expires, there's no need to change, this money and IHS will not be refunded even if you later obtain permanent residency. If you're unsure which category you fall into, justiscript.com offers £5 to get a written response from a UK-qualified lawyer within 24 hours regarding this one issue, which is more cost-effective than paying an extra visa fee based on a guess.

The earned settlement proposal consultation, proposed in November 2025, was closed on February 12, 2026, with the BN(O) route listed as not within the scope of consultation, being able to reduce by 5 years from the base year. The government's response and revised supporting rules have not been announced to date, and will be based on the GOV.UK announcement.

Exam and English, BN(O) permanent residency now requires what?

The Life in the UK test must be passed according to Appendix KOL UK requirements, and English must be at least B1 for listening and speaking. Those under 18 years old and 65 years old or older are exempt from these two requirements. Starting from March 26, 2027, the route that raises English to B2 does not include BN(O). There is also a new one for family members: HC 584, starting from October 8, 2026, the dependant children under 18 years old on the BN(O) route do not need to accumulate five years themselves first, they can settle together with their eligible parents.

The day of submission: Can the application still be submitted if the passport has expired?

This step is easy to miss. The Ministry of the Interior's "Hong Kong British National (Overseas) route" v14.0 (version dated April 8, 2026) states: If you use the UK Immigration ID Check app to verify your identity and apply for permanent residency, you can use an expired BN(O) or Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport, provided that the expiry date is less than five years ago; if you choose to collect biometric information at a UKVCAS service point, you can submit an expired passport or alternative documents such as a birth certificate to confirm identity and nationality. BN(O) identity itself is lifelong and does not disappear with the passport expiration, so getting stuck at this document step is usually due to selecting the wrong verification method.

£3,226 No fee waivers, no refunds if rejected, so pay after the first four steps are verified.

Did you have a period of being a Student or Graduate in the past five years? Recalculate according to the above criteria, and what year has the maturity date been pushed to? Discuss in the comments section where you got stuck.

This article is for reference only. For specific issues, please consult a licensed attorney.

[Data source] gov.uk/british-national-overseas-bno-visa/settle-in-the-uk; gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table/home-office-immigration-and-nationality-fees-8-april-2026; gov.uk/government/publications/hong-kong-british-national-overseas-route

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