BN(O) visa app spikes in popularity in Hong Kong after Britain moves to make process completely digital

As of 5pm on Tuesday, Hongkongers are able to apply for Britain’s new BN(O) visas entirely online, without the need to visit a centre to give a fingerprint

The program quickly became one of the most popular offerings on Apple’s App Store in Hong Kong

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The “UK Immigration: ID Check” app allows Hongkongers to apply to for BN(O) visas entirely online. Photo: Nathan Tsui

Published: 6:41pm, 23 Feb 2021Updated: 10:47am, 24 Feb 2021

Hongkongers looking to settle in Britain, many of them motivated by worries over the city’s future, rushed to download a smartphone app to apply for the country’s new BN(O) visa scheme after the Home Office made the process completely digital on Tuesday.

The app, called “UK Immigration: ID Check”, was originally designed to allow citizens of the European Economic Area – a bloc comprising EU member states along with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway – to apply for British visas. But the Home Office has modified the app to allow Hong Kong citizens with British National (Overseas) status and their dependants to apply entirely online from Tuesday at 5pm, without the need to visit a visa centre to submit a fingerprint.

Just hours before the changes were made, a rush of user downloads made “UK Immigration: ID Check” the second most popular free title on Apple’s App Store in Hong Kong, just behind the local government’s “Leave Home Safe” Covid-19 exposure app.

“UK Immigration: ID Check” was also ranked No 1 on the App Store’s list of the most popular free utility apps in Hong Kong, up from No 4 from the night before.

It remains unclear exactly how many people have downloaded the app, and not all of those users are necessarily seeking to apply for BN(O) visas, but social media platforms were flooded with excitement about the new arrangement on Tuesday.

“I hope it all goes smoothly and I can get my visa as soon as possible,” a 24-year-old woman, who was active in 2019’s anti-government protests, said before applying for the visa.

The woman left Hong Kong for Britain in December, fearing for the city’s future after Beijing imposed its national security law on the city last year.