BNO Settlement Grants Reached 8,682 in Year to March 2026
26 May 2026
If you hold a BNO visa and are approaching your five-year mark, the latest Home Office statistics show that the first large wave of settlement grants is now well underway.
The data, published on 21 May 2026, shows that 8,682 settlement grants were issued on the BNO route in the year ending March 2026. The cumulative total since the scheme began on 31 January 2021 is now 9,804. The route allows "BN(O) passport holders from Hong Kong...along with their family members to live, work and study in the UK."
This timing makes sense. BNO holders who arrived in the first months of 2021 are now reaching the five-year continuous residence period needed to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR). The surge in annual grants reflects that cohort becoming eligible. For context, 7,214 new out-of-country visas were issued in the same year, so the settlement pipeline is now running at a similar scale to fresh arrivals.
If you are approaching five years on the BNO route, make sure your absence record is accurate before you apply. Your ILR application requires you to show you have stayed within the absence limits throughout your qualifying period. You can use the ILR Calculator to check your current position.
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