Is BNO permanent residence still for 5 years? 2026 New Regulations, B2 Exemption and Number of Outbound Days

For the past half year or so, the same sentence has flooded the backstage: "It's been ten years since our permanent residence was changed. Have we, BNOs, waited in vain?"

There is a reader who landed in Manchester City in March 2021. He has just completed five years and has passed the Life in the UK exam, but he has not dared to press the submit button - he is afraid that if the policy changes after paying the money, both money and time will be lost.

Let me talk about the most important thing first: As of today (August 2026), the 5-year permanent residence status of BNO path has not changed one day to .

Will BNO permanent residence last for 10 years? Where is the progress of earned settlement?

The 2025 Immigration White Paper proposes an "earned settlement" framework, with the baseline planned to be extended from 5 years to 10 years. Public consultation will be opened in November 2025, and the consultation has ended on on February 12, 2026.

The key point is: BNO holders are clearly given a five-year reduction of (five-year reduction) , which is 5 years minus the 10-year baseline. In fact, it is still 5 years. Moreover, this item was not included in the consultation scope from the beginning - the government had no intention of soliciting opinions on it. At the Westminster Debate on February 2, 2026, the Minister of Immigration and Citizenship once again confirmed that the protection of the BN(O) group is a "firm policy position".

No draft immigration rules to implement earned settlement have yet been tabled in Parliament. The official line is that it may be launched in the autumn of 2026, but the immigration department’s statement in June this year also mentioned that it may be postponed to 2027. Until the new rules come into effect, the existing BNO permanent residence rules will continue to apply.

Does BNO permanent residence require English test B2? The answer is no

This is another point that is most misinformed. The Ministry of the Interior does plan to raise the English language threshold for permanent residence from B1 to B2 for some routes, and the effective date has been postponed to March 26, 2027 . However, in the list of applicable scope announced in March 2026, does not include the BN(O) path . The minister also publicly confirmed that the English requirement for BNO permanent residence remains B1.

Therefore, BNO applicants are still the third child at this stage: continuous residence for 5 years + Life in the UK Test (18 to 64 years old) + B1 English (listening and speaking). If you have already passed the B1 exam, you do not need to retake the certificate.

How to calculate the 180 days of leaving the country for BNO permanent residence? The two easiest pitfalls

Pitfall 1 of : rolling 12 months, not a natural year. may not leave the country for more than 180 days in any 12 consecutive months. Many people self-check by "walking X days in 2024 and walking Y days in 2025". As a result, a trip to New Year's Eve and combining the two periods exceeds the limit.

Pitfall 2: The starting point is the visa approval date, not the entry date. If you get a BNO visa in February 2021 and fly over in August 2021, the intervening six months will be counted as "departure". This rule makes many people find out in their fifth year that they actually have to wait a few more months.

Travel interruptions caused by humanitarian or environmental crisis rescue, natural disasters, military conflicts, and epidemics are exempt situations, but evidence is required. If you are not sure whether your number of days is enough, you can use 永居计算器APP to calculate the number of days based on actual entry and exit records; if the situation is complicated (such as changing visa categories in the middle), spend £5 on justiscript.com to have a British licensed lawyer answer a question in writing within 24 hours, which saves you the trouble of guessing over and over again.

New rules for BNO visa in April 2026: Adult children can apply independently

On April 8, 2026, the Appendix Hong Kong British National (Overseas) revision came into effect, and the original "family member" path was adjusted to BN(O) Adult Child path : Adult children of BNO status holders who were under 18 years old at the time of return in 1997 (that is, born on July 1, 1979 or later) can apply for independently from their parents in , and do not need to travel or live with their parents. The remaining validity, character, funding, TB testing and other requirements remain unchanged.

From April 8, 2026, the permanent residence application fee will increase to £3,226 per person for . There is also a biometric information fee of about £19.20; Life in the UK Test £50, and an English test of about £150. You do not need to pay IHS to apply for permanent residence . Permanent residence can be submitted within 28 days before the expiry of the existing visa.