More than 1,000 adult Hongkongers born on or after July 1, 1997, to parents holding British National (Overseas) passports applied for a pathway to UK citizenship in the first month under expanded rules covering such individuals, according to figures obtained by the Post.

The United Kingdom recorded 1,200 applicants under the extended scheme from November 30, 2022 till the end of December that year, the Post found from data retrieved from a Freedom of Information request, a right under British law allowing any individual to ask for details held by the public sector.

The initial BN(O) scheme was introduced in 2021 for relevant passport holders in response to Beijing’s imposition of the national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, which prohibits acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign groups.