3.
CONFIDENTIAL
HONG KONG NATIONALITY WHITE PAPER
ARGUMENTS FOR AMENDMENT
8.
COMMONWEALTH CITIZENSHIP
Argument
BN(0)s should not be Commonwealth citizens, since Hong Kong
will not then be part of the Commonwealth.
1.
Government Proposals
2.
Article 7(3) provides that BN (0)s should be Commonwealth
citizens.
Line to Take
3.
that Hong Kong will
But eitizenship
There is no illusion by the government
remain part of the Commonwealth after June 1997!
is attached to an individual, not to a country. The Government
have undertaken that BN (0) status will carry with it broadly the
same rights as go with British Dependent Territories citizenship, apart from transmissibility. BDTCS, in common with other British
nationals, are Commonwealth citizens. If they are living here and meet the appropriate residence and other qualifications they have all the rights in the UK which that citizenship carries with it (eg the right to vote, to join the Civil Service, to be a MP).
BN (O)s will also be British nationals. It would not be right to deprive them in 1997 of the rights available to British nationals
living in the UK.
Scope for Amendment
4. Highly undesirable. BN (0)s could technically be excluded.
from Commonwealth citizenship. But this would have the effect of
causing them to be treated for most purposes as if they were aliens
rather than British nationals. Not only would this cabec
dissatisfaction in Hong Kong, but it would also make the job of ensuring acceptability of BN (0) status and the BN (0) passports by other countries that much more difficult, since it would be apparent that BN (0)s were being treated by the UK differently from other
British Nationals.