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COMMENTARY ON THE PROVISIONS IN THE DRAFT ORDER1 Citation, commencement and extent
8. Article 1 sets out the title and commencement date of the Order and ensures that it forms part of the law of Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Dependent Territories. Commencement should be no later than 1 July 1987 in order to continue the present practice of issuing pass- ports which have a 10 year validity period. This arrangement will also give maximum time for the issuing authorities to cope with applications for BN(O) passports, and for third countries to grow accustomed to the new nationality
status.
Connections with Hong Kong
9. Articles 2 and 3 should be read with the provisions of paragraph 2(1)(a) of the Schedule to the Hong Kong Act.
10. Article 2(1) defines BDTCs who are such by virtue of a connection with Hong Kong and who, unless they are also BDTCs by virtue of a seperate con- nection with another dependent territory (see paragraph 19 below) will therefore lose their BDTC status on 1 July 1997 and be entitled to acquire BN(O) status. It encompasses all the Hong Kong BDTCs listed in Annex 2, although in fact the great majority (about 3.19 million) of the roughly 34 million BDTCs in Hong Kong are BDTCs by birth, and about 53,000 are BDTCs by registration or naturalisation. The various categories covered by Article 2(1)(a) to 2(1)(f) are dealt with in paragraphs 11 to 16 below.
11. Article 2(1)(a) concerns BDTCs born, naturalised or registered in Hong Kong, or found abandoned there as newborn infants, or their children. These persons are considered to have a sufficient connection with Hong Kong for the purposes of the Order. This is subject to a qualification only in relation to persons born in Hong Kong on or after 1 January 1983, because of the provisions for the acquisition of BDTC status by birth under the British Nationality Act 1981. Under that Act persons born in Hong Kong on or after 1 January 1983 are not BDTCs unless at the time of their birth either of their parents is settled in a dependent territory or is a BDTC. Consequently article 2(3) of the Order provides that a person born in Hong Kong after 1 January 1983 is not taken to have a connection with Hong Kong for the purposes of the Order, notwith- standing that he broke is born in Hong Kong, unless either parent is settled in Hong Kong or is a BDTC by virtue of a connection with Hong Kong. For example, a child born in Hong Kong on or after 1 January 1983 to parents who are BDTCs by virtue of a connection with Gibraltar and who are in Hong Kong temporarily will not lose his or her BDTC status in 1997 just because of his
ebirth in Hong Kong (see paragraph 18 below).
12. Article 2(1)(b) concerns people who became BDTCs through adoption by parents who are Hong Kong BDTCs. This accords with the provision for acquisi-
1 The text of the Order refers, where appropriate, only to the masculine gender (ie he, his). The Interpretation Act 1978 provides that words importing the masculine gender include the feminine, and vice versa. The normal practice in United Kingdom legislation is to refer to the masculine gender in all suitable cases. The Order should therefore be taken to include the feminine gender.
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