Your BNO visa, simplified!

Whether you will grant Indefinite Leave To Remains (ILR) after 5 years of staying in the UK ?

BNO visa was issued on January 2021. That means around January or February 2025, some of the BNO HongKongers are going to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remains (ILR). If you check uk government website, you must know the requirements. I summarize again here:

You can apply for settlement if you have a BNO visa and you’ve spent 5 continuous years in the UK..
Knowledge of language and life in the UK

In Fact, after the introductions of BNO visa, some of HK people have changed from existing UK visa to BNO visa. There are more cases now, you can see from facebook groups like Hong Kong BNO visa, etc, some of those changes from other UK visa to BNO visa have been rejected but offered 3 years of BNO visa again. You may think because they don’t use BNO visa for 5 years ? They don’t submit English test ? They don’t submit Life in the UK test ? They have criminal records in the UK ? Certainly not.

If you do not qualify for settlement ?

Assume you had spent in UK for 5 years, and were going to apply for ILRs for BNO visa, and just had finished making application, you were going to submit for payment. Then You can see the Photo “If you do not qualify for settlement” ? What that means ? It was suppose you met all requirements you then submitted applications. Please read “If you do not meet the requirements for settlement, but appear to meet the requirements to be granted further temporary permission to stay, your settlement application will not be decided. Instead the Home Office will vary your application for settlement so that it becomes an application for temporary permission to stay.” Then ask you to “Click” “Please confirm you have read the above information. What that means ?

Three years ago, one Hong Kong person helped me for moving home. He came to UK via Entrepreneur Visa, then changed to BNO visa. After he spent 5 years of staying in the UK (3 years Entrepreneur visa + 2 Years BNO visa) I helped him to grant BNO ILRs, you can see his “Voice” file attached. He was very lucky he met me so I made him CONSULTATION one year before application.

Recently, you may hear that some of HongKongers who have stayed in the UK for 5 years (UK visa + BNO visa = total 5 years), they met all requirements. However, they were rejected by Home Office, instead Home Office granted them 3 more years of BNO visa.

After 3 more years whether Home Office will grant ILRs or further temporary visa or reject visa at all ?

My Background

It is the time I give you my background. I have been practising my professional business in Hong Kong for 20 years and 9 years in the UK, and still today only in HK. In 2016, I expanded my professional business in the UK. I was granted UK Tax Licence, which allowed me to handle UK corporate services, for accountancy, and tax advice. Then I went to legal studies again (Past time basis) mainly “Immigration Laws and Practice”, and went practicing as well. In 2021, Home Office granted me “Immigration Licence” for all UK visas, and Asylum and Protection cases.

Below is my profile.
Stephen Lai, Partner of Stephen M.S.Lai & Co CPA Limited
Mr. Stephen Lai FCCA (A fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certificate Accountants)
HKICPA (A practising member of Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants)
MBA (Master of Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University, UK)
PDA (Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University,UK)
PCA (Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University,UK)
LLB (Undergraduate of Law Degree from Nottingham Trent University, UK)
UK OSIC level 1 all UK visas, and Asylum and Protection case worker Note the licence was expired in 2023 and I haven’t made renewal as I needed to concentrate on my Hong Kong Professional business.

Need Consultation ?

Now there are a lot of questions you may want to know ?
1. I met all ILRs, whether Home Office will grant me and my family ILRs ?
2. If Home Office rejects to grant ? Can I make appeal ?
3. How if I accept temporary visa to stay in the UK ? How long the temporary visa will be ? and after that period whether Home Office will grant ILRs again ?
4. Whether Home Office will reject ILRs or BNO visa ? If so, can I go appeal ? or do I need to return Hong Kong ?

It is a right time you need to find a professional who have in-depth UK immigration knowledge, laws and practice, and know Home Office internal policies, laws, and practice.

My consultation fee is GBP1500 per family case. The consultation will include:

Understand your family background

Suggest to you what you need to do, i.e legal work arrangements (at least one year before application)
After my consultation, if you filed application, and rejected, we will refund GBP$1500 to you. Our case successful rate is 100%.
The refund will not be made if clients don’t follow our instructions, they don’t pass English test, they don’t pass Life in the UK test, or they finally commit crimes in the UK, even a minor crime, or clients from the beginning hide something to us.

My whatsapp is 852-55319847 (mainly for BNO visa)