united-kingdom immigration citizenship passport hong-kong
Eligibility of UK citizenship/residency for long time visa holder
<p>My situation is as follows:</p>
<p>Born in Hong Kong in 1995, have a BN(O) passport.
Spent 2010-2018 in the UK on a tier 4 visa (high school and undergraduate studies).
Returned to HK between 2018 Aug - 2019 Sept
Came back to the UK in 2019 Sept on a tier 5 youth mobility visa and am currently studying for a masters.</p>
<p>Having spent a long time in the UK, I have tried looking through the relevant gov sites to figure out whether I am eligible for citizenship or permanent residence or ILR, but it is not clear to me what my options are.</p>
<p>Thanks for any help!</p>

<p>Your best route will probably be using your BN(O) status as the UK has <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53246899" rel="nofollow noreferrer">opened up a pathway to citizenship</a> for Hong Kongers holding a BN(O) passport. You will be entitled to come to the UK for five years and then apply for citizenship after your sixth year of being here.</p>
<p>I don't see any other entitlements for citizenship or ILR at the moment based on the facts presented. If you had been in the UK continuously for 10 years, you would be eligible to apply for ILR based on &quot;long residence&quot;.</p>
