measures and these documents were easily altered to match the details of other people. Passports issued since 2001 have been produced with digitised photos and signatures that mitigate counterfeiting issues. While nearly 545,000 BN(O) passports were issued between 1997 and 2007, the rate of renewals for these documents dropped steadily during the immediate post-handover period. From a peak of 139,000 in 2001, just over 7,600 passports were issued in 2011. BN(O) passport usage and renewals had waned because HKSAR passports offered visa-free access to more countries. This trend of decline began to reverse in the mid-2010s amid political unrest following the 2014 Hong Kong protests; about 37,000 BN(O)s renewed their passports in 2016. Renewals increased sharply following the start of large-scale anti-government protests in 2019. Over 154,000 passports were issued in that year, nearly doubling the number of valid passports in circulation. The upward shift continued through the following year; 315,000 people opted for renewals in 2020. Expanded access to UK residence Substantive debate on expanding BN(O) rights was restarted in 2020, when the National People's Congress (NPC) bypassed the Legislative Council and directly approved national security legislation for Hong Kong that severely penalises acts of secession and subversion against the state as a response to ongoing anti-government protests. This was done despite an explicit stipulation in the Hong Kong Basic Law stating the territory's responsibility for enacting its own legislation in that area. Pro-democracy Legislative Councillors and activists denounced the direct application of national law without local consultation as a fundamental upheaval of the regional legal system, labelling it as the end of territory's autonomy and "one country, two systems". The United Kingdom, along with its EU, Five Eyes, and G7 allies, further condemned the legislation as a severe violation of the Joint Declaration that inherently undermines the system of self-government promised to Hong Kong and the fundamental rights of its residents. The Home Office initially announced that the existing six-month stay limit on BN(O)s would be extended to renewable periods of 12 months with the right to work. When the national security law came into force, the British government declared a further extension of residence rights; BN(O)s would have leave to remain in the UK with rights to work and study, after five years they may apply for settled status. They would then be eligible for full citizenship after holding settled status for 12 months. This was implemented