Hong Kong British National (Overseas) status holders can now apply for UK visas using a smartphone app, the UK Home Office said on Tuesday. The UK government opened a new visa scheme last month designed to offer BN(O) status holders in Hong Kong a path to citizenship at a time when freedom and human rights in the former British colony are under unprecedented threat from the Chinese regime. Since then, thousands of Hongkongers have already applied for the new visa to live, work, and study in the UK, the Home Office said in a press release. A new smartphone app launched on Tuesday allows applicants who have biometric passports to submit their biometrics and validate their identity in a fully digital process, without needing to visit a UK visa office. “I am pleased we have not only managed to launch this new route, enabling those with BN(O) status and their …