CONFIDENTIAL
status, and who themselves became British Overseas citizens
under Article 6(1).
27.
Article 6(3) and (4) fulfil the Government's
commitments to second generation children if they are born
stateless. It was proposed during the passage of the Hong
Kong Bill that the automatic provisions made for the first
generation should not apply to these children, but that they
should have an entitlement to registration as British
Overseas citizens parallel to the entitlement to regist-
ration as British Dependent Territories citizens provided
by sections 17 (2) and (3) of the British Nationality Act
1981, which are described in paragraph 24 above.
28.
Article 6(5) qualifies Article 6(3) to the extent
that section 17 (4) of the British Nationality Act 1981
qualifies section 17 (2). That is to say, it empowers the
Secretary of State to accept an application within 6 years
rather than 12 months of birth, if he thinks fit in the
special circumstances of any particular case.
Amendments to British Nationality Act 1981
29.
Article 7 sets out the amendments which will be
necessary to the 1981 Act.
30.
Article 7(2) includes BN (0)s in the categories of
those entitled to registration as British citizens under
section 4 of the British Nationality Act 1981.
31.
will remain
Article 7(3) provides that BN (0) s
Commonwealth citizens in line with other British nationals.
This does not, of course, imply that Hong Kong will remain
part of the Commonwealth after 30 June 1997.
32.
Article 7(4)
-
7(12) encompass all the other amend-
ments which will be necessary to the 1981 Act. In partic-
ular, Article 7(4)(d) ensuses that no fee will be charged
for registration as a BN (O).
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