Applicant, including their dependents, must be able to prove they can adequately maintain and accommodate themselves in the UK for 6 months without access to public funds.

Applicants can rely on credible offers of financial support and/or accommodation from a third party (for example, a relative or friend) to meet this requirement. The test for adequate maintenance is whether the applicant can show that, after their accommodation costs have been paid, they have at least as much money as they would if their family were receiving income support in the UK.

Applicants who have submitted an application for entry clearance must be outside the UK and must show they are ordinarily resident in Hong Kong at the date of application.

Ordinary residence has the following features:

• it is a regular, habitual mode of life in a particular place
• its continuity has persisted despite temporary absences
• it may be of long or short duration
• it must be lawful
• it must have been adopted voluntarily
• it must be for a settled purpose

Periods of absence do not necessarily mean that a person's ordinary residence has ceased. Applicants for the Hong Kong BN(O) route can apply for entry clearance from any country outside the UK but must be able to demonstrate their ordinary residence in Hong Kong.

For example, students studying abroad, business people working away from Hong Kong or applicants visiting family overseas when they apply for the Hong Kong BN(O) route would usually meet the requirement for ordinary residence in Hong Kong. However, an applicant for the Hong Kong BN(O) route with a permanent or settled immigration status in another country would likely not meet the ordinary residence requirement for entry clearance.

Applicant who meets the requirements of BNO visa can switch within the UK if they are already in the UK on a different visa. Family members will need to apply at the same time as the main applicant.

Applicant can apply to settle in the UK (known as 'indefinite leave to remain') after they've lived in the UK for 5 years on a BNO visa. The period where an applicant has spent in the UK on a different visa may count towards the 5 years. Time spent on a student visa (previously called a Tier 4 (General) student visa) or a Youth Mobility Scheme visa (T5) will not be counted.

An applicant must complete a continuous residence period of 5 years. In order to meet the continuous residency requirement, applicants under the BNO visa category should not be outside the UK for more than 180 whole days in any of the three consecutive 12-month periods, preceding the date of the application for indefinite leave to remain (ILR).

Applicants will have the following conditions attached to their leave:

• • No recourse to public funds;
  • study (including at school, college or university), subject to the requirement to obtain an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate if required
  • No employment as a professional sportsperson (including as a sports coach).
  • Registration with the police for certain passport holders over the age of 16

If applicants submit their application before their authorised stay ends, their existing immigration status will continue until their application is decided, even if the decision is not made until after the end of their permitted stay. An applicant can continue to work until their case is decided if the conditions of their existing leave allow them to do so.

Non-EEA nationals applying under BNO visa have to apply for a biometric residence permit.

The biometric residence permit is a residence permit which holds a migrant's biographic details (name, date and place of birth) and biometric information (facial image and fingerprints), and shows their immigration status and entitlements while they remain in the UK. This also means that a UK visa will no longer be stamped in the applicant's passport and all applicants will be issued one of the new Biometric visa cards instead. These cards look very similar to a (pink) UK driving license, except they have a microchip in the back. .

Once the application for BNO visa is submitted online, applicants are required to attend their biometric appointment at one of the Visa Application Centers to provide their fingerprints, photo and signature. .

Successful offshore applicants will receive a 30-day' vignette sticker' in their passport instead of a vignette with the full grant of leave. This 30-day visa will be the date they indicated as their intended travel date in their visa application. Applicants under Skilled worker visa will be required to collect their BRP from the Post Office branch detailed in their decision letter within ten days of arrival in the UK. The Post Office branch is linked to the postcode that they submitted in their visa application. The BRP card can then be used as proof of right to work, study and access public services in the UK. .

The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) was introduced by the Home Office on 6 April 2015. People coming to the UK for more than six months have to pay this health surcharge as a part of their immigration application towards the National Health Service (healthcare in the UK). Offshore applicants will have to pay the health surcharge if they are applying for a visa for a period of longer than six months, and the onshore applicant will have to pay the health charge for any length of visa.

Adult applicants will have to pay £1,560 if they are staying for 2 years and 6 months or £3,120 if they are staying for 5 years. .

For each child (under 18), it costs £1,175 if they are staying for 2 years and 6 months or £2,350 if they are staying for 5 years.

Visa application will not be granted if applicants do not pay the healthcare surcharge or application will be delayed if the right amount is not paid. .

In line with the Home Office service standards for processing UK visa applications for BNO visa, they decide within 3 weeks if applying from outside UK and within 8 weeks, if applying within UK.