CONFIDENTIAL
25.
Article 6(1) provides that those Hong Kong BDTCs who have not
acquired BN (0) status, for whatever reason, should automatically acquire British Overseas citizenship (BOC) on 1 July 1997 if they would otherwise
be stateless.
26.
Article 6(2) confers British Overseas citizenship automatically at
birth on children born on or after 1 July 1997 to former Hong Kong BDTCs
if those children would otherwise be stateless. It covers such children
both of Hong Kong BDTCs who became BN (0)s, and of those who failed to acquire BN(0) status, and who themselves became BOCs under Article 6(1).
27.
Article 6(3) and (4) fulfil Her Majesty's Government's commitments to grandchildren born after 1 July 1997, of former Hong Kong BDTCs if the grandchildren 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 the second generation, but that they
should have an entitlement to registration as BOCs parallel to the entitlement to registration as BDTCs 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
Article 7 sets out the amendments which will be necessary to the
1981 Act.
29.