UK BN(O) route: children under 18 can now settle without five continuous years in the UK
HC 584 rewrites BN(O) rule HK 62.1 from 8 October 2026. Applicants under 18 at application need not show five continuous years in the UK. Adult continuous-residence wording in that paragraph is otherwise unchanged.
By Beyond Borders Editorial Team
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- Last reviewed
- Reading time
- 2 min read
Key points
- HC 584 lists APP HK1 among paragraphs that take effect on 8 October 2026; APP HK1 substitutes a new HK 62.1.
- New HK 62.1 still requires the applicant’s most recent permission to have been on the Hong Kong BN(O) route, and five continuous years on a settle-able route, unless the applicant is aged under 18 at the date of application.
- GOV.UK’s BN(O) settlement page states that under-18s do not need five continuous years and can apply once their parents become eligible.
What changed on 8 October 2026
The Home Office Statement of Changes HC 584 lists APP HK1 among the paragraphs that take effect on 8 October 2026. APP HK1 substitutes a new paragraph HK 62.1 in Appendix Hong Kong British National (Overseas).
The substituted text requires that:
- the applicant’s most recent grant of permission must have been on the Hong Kong BN(O) route; and
- the 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.
What GOV.UK says
The GOV.UK page British National (Overseas) visa: Settle in the UK (accessed 21 October 2026) states that applicants can apply for settlement if they have a BN(O) visa and have spent 5 continuous years in the UK, and that if the applicant is under 18 when they apply, they do not need to have spent 5 continuous years in the UK. The same page says under-18s can apply for settlement once their parents become eligible.
That page also shows a government application fee of £3,226 for each person applying (checked 21 October 2026). Re-check the page before relying on the figure. This article does not repeat GOV.UK processing-time wording.
What this does not mean
Adult applicants remain subject to the five-year continuous-residence requirement in the substituted HK 62.1. This note is general information about published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK text. It is not legal, tax or immigration advice, and it says nothing about any individual’s application outcome.
What this does not mean
- This does not change the five-year continuous-residence rule for adult BN(O) settlement applicants as set out in the substituted HK 62.1.
- This is not a prediction of any application’s outcome or of any future ‘earned settlement’ reform.
Government-published fees
Set by the government and subject to change. Not a Beyond Borders quote.
| Indefinite leave to remain application fee under the BN(O) settlement route (per person), as shown on GOV.UK | £3,226 | Official source · checked 21 Oct 2026 |
|---|
Official sources
UK Home Office / GOV.UK
Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC 584)VerifiedOfficial gazette3 Sept 2026accessed 21 Oct 2026
Evidence labels: Verified — we checked this against the official source; Reported — from a named press report, not an official statement; Analysis — our reading of the sources.
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