RECORDING THAT STATUS. WE WONDER WHETHER ARTICLE 3(1) COULD BE REWORDED AS FOLLOWS
**(1) ANY PERSON WHO IS A BRITISH DEPENDENT TERRITORIES CITIZEN BY VIRTUE OF SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES AS ARE MENTIONED IN ARTICLE 2 ABOVE SHALL BE ENTITLED, SEFORE THE RELEVANT DATE (OR IF BORN IN 1997. BEFORE THAT DATE, BEFORE THE END OF THAT YEAR), TO ACQUIRE A FORM OF BRITISH NATIONALITY TO BE KNOWN AS BRITISH NATIONAL (OVERSEAS), ON APPLICATION MADE BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED IN PARAGRAPH (2) BELOW AS BEING APPLICABLE IN HIS CASE FOR A PASSPORT RECORDING THAT STATUS.'
THIS FORMULATION WOULD SEEM TO US TO BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR DOCTRINE THAT THE CONSCIOUS AND VOLUNTARY ACT OF ACQUISITION OF THE NEW STATUS WOULD BE EXERCISED BY MAKING AN APPLICATION FOR A PASSPORT IN THE NEW STATUS:
A
ARTICLE
(C) ARTICLE 3(2) IF THIS FORMULATION IS ACCEPTABLE,
3(2) WOULD NEED TO BE SIMILARLY REVISED TO SUBSTITUTE ''APPLICATION FOR A PASSPORT RECORDING THE STATUS OF BRITISH NATIONAL (OVERSEAS)'' FOR APPLICATION SIGNIFYING A PERSON'S
AS INTENTION TO BECOME A BRITISH NATIONAL (OVERESAS)''. REGARDS THE CUT-OFF DATES, WE SUGGEST THAT THE ORDER-IN-COUNCIL BE AMENDED SO THAT THESE DATES MAY BE SET BY ANOTHER ORDER-IN-COUNCIL IN A FEW YEARS' TIME WHEN THE DEMAND FOR BN(0) STATUS WILL BE EASIER TO ASSESS. WE ALSO RECOMMEND THAT AN ESCAPE CLAUSE BE INCLUDED TO ENABLE THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO REGISTER AT HIS DISCRETION ANY PERSON ELIGIBLE TO ACQUIRE THE BN (0) STATUS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE UK MEMORANDUM BUT WHO IS UNABLE TO APPLY FOR A PASSPORT RECORDING THAT STATUS BEFORE THE RELEVANT CUT-OFF DATE:
(D) ARTICLE 4 ADD ON THE RELEVANT DATE'' AFTER OMITTED'' IN
LINE 5:
-
(E) ARTICLE 5(1), (2) AND (3) · INSERT ENTITLED TO BE REGISTERED
AS'' BEFORE ''A BRITISH OVERSEAS CITIZEN' IN SUB-PARAGRAPHS (1), (2) AND (3). PRESENTATIONALLY WE FEEL THAT A REGISTRATION PROCEDURE FOR THE ACQUISITION OF BOC STATUS BY PERSONS WHO WOULD OTHERWISE BE STATELESS WOULD BE NECESSARY, GIVEN THAT HK BDTCS HAVE TO GO THROUGH A FORM OF REGISTRATION (I.E. APPLICATION FOR A PASSPORT) TO ACQUIRE SN(0) STATUS. IT WOULD BE INVIDIOUS IF PERSONS WHO WOULD OTHERWISE BE STATELESS ARE SEEN TO BE GIVEN A BETTER DEAL THROUGH ACQUIRING BOC STATUS AUTOMATICALLY, WHEREAS HK BDTCS HAVE TO APPLY FOR BN(0) PASSPORTS BEFORE ACQUIRING BN (0) STATUS. ALSO, AN ADDITIONAL PROVISION COVERING STATELESS CHILDREN BORN BEFORE 1 JULY 1997 TO PARENTS WHO WERE NEITHER BRITISH NOR CHINESE BUT WHO COULD NOT TRANSMIT THEIR THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALITY TO THEIR CHILDREN IS NECESSARY IF THE ARGUMENT IN PARA 5 ABOVE IS ACCEPTED:
(F) SCHEDULE 2, PARA 1(B)(1) AND PARA 4(C) THESE PROVISIONS DISPENSE WITH BN (0)S TAKING AN OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. BUT IF
CONFIDENTIAL
/ IT IS