Immigration Rules Appendix Gurkha and Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-11)

This route is for Gurkhas or Hong Kong military unit veterans who were discharged before 1 July 1997 to settle in the UK.

An application can be made from in the UK or overseas.

The partner, children and dependent adult children of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997 can also apply to settle on this route.

The partner or child of a deceased Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997 can also apply to settle on this route.

Gurkhas or Hong Kong military unit veterans discharged on or after 1 July 1997 must refer to Appendix Armed Forces.

Requirements for entry clearance and settlement for a Gurkha and Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997

Validity requirements for a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997

AF (GHK) 1.1. A person applying from outside the UK must apply online for entry clearance on the gov.uk website on the specified form VAF AF, or in person at the Visa Application Centre in Kathmandu.

AF (GHK) 1.2. A person applying in the UK must apply online on the gov.uk website on the specified form SET(AF).
- (a) any fee must have been paid; and
- (b) the applicant must have provided biometrics when required; and
- (c) the applicant must have provided a passport or other document which satisfactorily establishes their identity and nationality.
AF (GHK) 1.4. An application which does not meet all the validity requirements may be rejected as invalid and not considered.

Suitability requirements for a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997

AF (GHK) 2.1. The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part Suitability.

AF (GHK) 2.2. If the applicant is in the UK on the date of application, they must not be in breach of immigration laws, except that where the Exceptions for overstayers section of Part Suitability applies, that period of overstaying will be disregarded.

Eligibility requirements for a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997

Entry requirements

AF (GHK) 3.1. A person seeking to come to the UK must apply for and obtain entry clearance as a Gurkha or Hong Kong military veteran before they arrive in the UK.

AF (GHK) 3.2. A person applying must, if Appendix Tuberculosis applies, provide a valid medical certificate confirming that they have undergone screening for active pulmonary tuberculosis and that this tuberculosis is not present in them.

Military Service Eligibility requirements
- (a) a national or citizen of Nepal who served in the Brigade of Gurkhas of the British Army and was discharged before 1 July 1997; or
- (b) a national or citizen of China, enlisted in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Chinese locally enlisted personnel) who served in the Hong Kong Military Service Corps (HKMSC) of the British Army and was discharged before 1 July 1997; or
- (c) a national or citizen of China, enlisted in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Chinese locally enlisted personnel) who served in the Hong Kong Squadron of the Royal Navy and was discharged before 1 July 1997.
- (a) the applicant is in receipt of a Ministry of Defence (MoD) disability pension; or
- (b) the applicant has a medal awarded by the MoD for gallantry.
Decision on an application as a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged from service before 1 July 1997.

AF (GHK) 5.1. If the decision maker is satisfied that all the suitability and eligibility requirements for entry clearance or settlement for a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran are met, the application will be granted; otherwise, the application will be refused.

AF (GHK) 5.2. If the application is refused the person can apply for an Administrative Review under Appendix AR: Administrative Review.

Period and conditions of grant for a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged from service before 1 July 1997

AF (GHK) 6.1. Where the applicant is outside the UK, they will be granted entry clearance for settlement.

AF (GHK) 6.2. Where the applicant is in the UK, they will be granted settlement.

Partner, bereaved partner or dependent child (“child”) of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran.

Validity requirements for a partner, bereaved partner or child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran

AF (GHK) 7.1. A person applying from outside the UK must apply online on the gov.uk website on the specified form VAF AF, or in person at the Visa Application Centre in Kathmandu.

AF (GHK) 7.2. A person applying in the UK, must apply online on the gov.uk website on the specified form SET(AF).
- (a) any fee must have been paid (unless the applicant has been granted a fee waiver); and
- (b) the applicant must have provided biometrics when required; and
- (c) the applicant must have provided a passport or other document that satisfactorily establishes their identity and nationality.
AF (GHK) 7.4. An applicant applying as a partner must be aged 18 or over on the date of application.

AF (GHK) 7.5. An application which does not meet all the validity requirements for a partner, bereaved partner or child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran may be rejected as invalid and not considered.

Suitability requirements for a partner, bereaved partner or child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran

AF (GHK) 8.1. The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part Suitability.

AF (GHK) 8.2. If the applicant is in the UK on the date of application, they must not in breach of immigration laws, except that, where the Exceptions for overstayers section of Part Suitability applies, any current period of overstaying will be disregarded.

Eligibility requirements for a partner, bereaved partner or child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran
- (a) has entry clearance or settlement as a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran under the pre-1997 Gurkha scheme (Gurkhas discharged before 1 July 1997 and their family members concession published on GOV.UK from 2008 to 2023), or Appendix Gurkha and Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997; or
- (b) is, at the same time, applying for (and is granted) entry clearance or settlement as a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran under Appendix Gurkha and Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997; or
- (c) is a deceased Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran.
Entry requirement for a partner, bereaved partner or child of a Gurkha or member of a Hong Kong military unit veteran

AF (GHK) 10.1. A person seeking to come to the UK as the partner, bereaved partner or child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran must have obtained entry clearance before they arrive in the UK.

AF (GHK) 10.2. A person seeking to come to the UK as the partner, bereaved partner or child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran must, if Appendix Tuberculosis applies, provide a valid medical certificate confirming that they have undergone screening for active pulmonary tuberculosis and that this tuberculosis is not present in them.

Relationship requirements of a partner, bereaved partner of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran

AF (GHK) 11.1. If applying as a partner, other than a bereaved partner, the requirements of Appendix Relationship with Partner must be met.

AF (GHK) 11.2. If the applicant is applying as a bereaved partner, they must provide a death certificate for the Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran.
- (a) if the applicant is applying as a bereaved partner of a Hong Kong military unit veteran, and they or their partner was in a polygamous marriage or civil partnership at the time of the veteran’s death, they may only rely on that marriage or civil partnership for the purposes of an application for entry clearance or settlement as a partner where no other partner to the marriage or civil partnership is seeking, or has been granted entry clearance or settlement;
- (i) the first or only partner on the Kindred Roll; or
- (ii) the next in turn according to the order in which they were registered on the Kindred Roll, if the applicant can show that the first partner has permanently waived their right to come to the UK; and
- (i) had, before their death, been granted entry clearance or settlement as a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran under the pre-1997 Gurkha concession or under Appendix Gurkha and Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997; or
- (ii) would have met the requirements for entry clearance or settlement as a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran under Appendix Gurkha and Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged from service before 1 July 1997, had they not died; and
- (d) the applicant must not have remarried; and
- (e) the relationship between the applicant and their partner must have been genuine and subsisting at the date of the Gurkha’s or Hong Kong military unit veteran’s death.
Relationship requirements for a child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997

AF (GHK) 12.1. The applicant must be the child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran who has been or is being granted settlement as a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran.
- a) before their death had been granted entry clearance or settlement as a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran under the pre-1997 Gurkha scheme (Gurkhas discharged before 1 July 1997 and their family members concession published on GOV.UK from 2008 to 2023) or under Appendix Gurkha and Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997; or
- b) would have met the requirements for settlement as a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran under Appendix Gurkha and Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged from service before 1 July 1997 had they not died.
AF (GHK) 12.3. If the applicant is applying as a bereaved child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged from service before 1 July 1997, they must provide a death certificate for the Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran.

Child requirements for a child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997
- (a) care requirement; and
- (b) age and independent life requirement.
- (a) they must have been aged under 18 on the date the Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran parent was discharged; and
- (b) they must be living in the same household as the Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran parent; and
- (c) they must not have been living in a different household from the Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran parent for more than 2 years continuously before the date of application; and
- (d) they must never have lived in a different household from the Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran parent for more than 2 years continuously, unless this was by reason of education or something similar (such that the family unit was maintained during the period when the applicant did not live in the same household); and
- (e) have not formed an independent family unit.
Eligibility requirement for a child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997 relying on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights

AF (GHK) 13A.1. Where the applicant does not meet the eligibility requirements of AF (GHK) 13.2. but the decision maker is satisfied that refusal of the application would breach Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention because it would result in unjustifiably harsh consequences for the applicant or their family, the applicant will meet the Article 8 ECHR eligibility requirement.

AF (GHK) 13A.2. Where AF (GHK) 13A.1. applies, and the applicant falls for refusal under SUI 2.1., SUI 2.3., SUI 4.1., or SUI 5.1., of Part Suitability, the application as a child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran discharged before 1 July 1997, must be refused.

Decision on an application as a partner, bereaved partner or child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran.

AF (GHK) 14.1. If the decision maker is satisfied that all the suitability and eligibility requirements for either a partner, bereaved partner or child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran are met, the application will be granted; otherwise, the application will be refused.

AF (GHK) 14.2. If the application is refused, the person can apply for an Administrative Review under Appendix AR: Administrative Review, except where the applicant is an Adult Dependent Relative.

Period of grant for partner, bereaved partner or child of a Gurkha or Hong Kong military unit veteran

AF (GHK) 15.1. Where the applicant is outside the UK, they will be granted entry clearance for settlement.

AF (GHK) 15.2. Where the application is in the UK, they will be granted settlement.