as the eponymously named "British National (Overseas) visa", a residence permit that BN(O)s and their dependent family members have been able to apply for since 31 January 2021. BN(O)s and their dependents who arrived in the UK before the new immigration route became available were granted "Leave Outside the Rules" at the discretion of the Border Force to remain in the country for up to six months as a temporary measure. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, about 7,000 people had entered the UK under this scheme between July 2020 and January 2021. The BN(O) visa was granted to over 97,000 applicants in 2021; As of 31 August 2022, there were over 133,000 BN(O) visas granted since January 2021. Countering the expanded access to UK residence, the Chinese and Hong Kong governments withdrew their recognition of BN(O) passports as valid travel documents for immigration clearance. The territorial government further requested 14 countries that they stop accepting BN(O) passports for issuing working holiday visas, although the documents remain valid for visa purposes in all of those nations. The NPC again directly legislated for the region in March 2021, approving a rework of local election laws that reduces the number of Legislative Council seats elected by the public and establishes a screening committee to scrutinise the political loyalty of candidates for public office. Since this decision, the UK has considered China to be in a "state of ongoing non-compliance" with the Joint Declaration. Acquisition and loss Becoming a British National (Overseas) is no longer possible. Acquisition was not an automatic process and eligible residents had to have applied for the status between 1 July 1987 and the end of the registration period. Registration deadlines were assigned to applicants by their birth year. The last date on which eligible applicants could register was 31 December 1997, if they were born in that year and prior to the transfer of sovereignty. BN(O) nationality cannot be transferred by descent, and the number of living status holders will eventually dwindle until there are none. The status was granted in addition to other British nationality classes; an individual can be both a British citizen and a British National (Overseas). Applicants were required to be British Dependent Territories citizens who held that status solely by a connection with Hong Kong. Connection in this context generally means having acquired BDTC status by birth or naturalisation in the colony, or by birth