British Nationality Selection Scheme

Introduction to the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act

According to the history in the early 1990s, the British government had launched the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990 and about 50,000 Hong Kong citizens registered to become British Citizens through this program. They were the first generation and considered as the “British Citizen otherwise than by descent”. Their children are the second generation and considered as the “British Citizen by descent”.

British Citizen otherwise by Descent

There are three main types of holders of British Citizen otherwise by Descent.

• The first type are children who are born in the UK, where one of their parents already is a British citizen or is a permanent resident at the time of their birth
• The second type is obtained through independent means, such as obtaining permanent residence in the UK through residing, and then applying for British citizenship.
• The third type is first generation of the BNSS

British Citizen by Descent

There are two main types of British Citizen by Descent.

• The first one are those who are born outside the UK, and one of their parents is a British Citizen otherwise by Descent.
• Another type is the second generation BNSS.
• People who are British Citizen by Descent are not able to pass on their British citizenship to their children who are born outside the UK automatically.

How do you obtain British Citizenship for your child?

If you are the second-generation of BNSS, your children would automatically obtain British citizenship if they are born in the UK.

If you are the second-generation of the BNSS and your children are born outside the UK, there are three main factors affecting the eligibility:

1. Whether your previous generation was granted British citizenship when you were born;
2. Whether you are a British citizen at the time of your child’s birth;
3. Whether you have resided in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the birth of your child, and you had not absent from the UK for more than 270 days during that period, and you are able to provide relevant proofs of residential address for the period.

If you meet all the above requirements, you can apply for British citizenship for your child according to Section 3 (2) British Nationality Act 1981.

If the above requirements are not met, you may need to consider to move to the UK in a family unit and apply together for spouse and child dependent visa. When you and your family resides in the UK for at least 3 years and each family member is not absence from the UK for more than 270 days, you can apply for British citizenship for your child according to Section 3 (5) British Nationality Act 1981.

Visa application process

Provide free phone preliminary consultation, assess the applicant’s background and answer related questions

Arrange a face-to-face consultation to analyse in details the applicant’s eligibility and supporting evidence, and also plan the legal basis of visa application

Handle the entire application procedure for the applicant, including the preparation of relevant documents and forms

Submit the application forms and documents to the UK Home Office once all necessary information is ready