There is also confusion about how to prove and document the "right of abode" status which, although it is alien to Hong Kong law, is crucial for some people in establishing their right to live in Hong Kong after 1997 under the Agreement, and will be crucial for all BN(0)s who wish to travel with ease to other countries. Hong Kong people living abroad have experienced particular difficulties: the daughter of one Hong Kong-born man, who was herself born in India, was refused "belonger" status on her arrival in Hong Kong although she was entitled to it. One woman, born in Hong Kong, was not allowed to rejoin her husband in Singapore when her passport ran out in Manila: her new passport, issued there, did not show her right of abode in Hong Kong. There was no procedure for endorsing her new passport to show that she had that right: she therefore had to return to Hong Kong and obtain a Hong Kong-issued passport which showed her right of abode and enabled her to re-enter Singapore. It is essential, in view of the other confusions which BN(0)s may face, that the British immigration statuses of settlement and right of abode are clarified in llong Kong's immigration ordinance before 1997 and that there are recognised procedures for verifying and documenting them.
5.5
Such clarity would also help to explain the new status and its immigration implications to third countries. It is clearly important that negotiations take place to ensure the international acceptability of the new passports. Hong Kong has already lobbied the European Parliament to try to persuade EEC countries to allow BN(0)s to make visits and business trips without visas. However, as the country which established the status and issues the passports, Britain should take the lead in such negotiations for visa waivers and other travel facilities with third countries.
4
E