The excellent Freedom of Movement blog is publishing great explainers on this. https://www.freemovement.org.uk/bno-visa-hong-kong-dominic-r.. https://www.freem

The excellent Freedom of Movement blog is publishing great explainers on this. https://www.freemovement.org.uk/bno-visa-hong-kong-dominic-r.. https://www.freemovement.org.uk/bno-visa-hong-kong-dominic-r.... tldr; It applies to Hong Kongers who applied for British National (Overseas) Citizenship (BNO) before registration closed in 1997, and it can not be inherited. Many of the young HK protestors will therefore be ineligible for it. BNO is an obscure post-Colonial status applicable to Hong Kongers which did not up till now grant long term residence to the UK. BNOs who now want to take up the government's offer for long term residence in the UK will have to fork a significant up front fee. This makes it available only to wealthy BNOs. If the government wanted to they could have changed the law to allow them to skip much of this, but they haven't.