CONFIDEN TIAL
e) Nationality and Passports
10.
Declaration.
October
1985
in
Paragraph 2 of the Schedule to the Hong Kong Act 1985 provides
for a nationality Order in Council to be made to give effect to the
terms of the United Kingdom Memorandum associated with the Joint
A White Paper containing a draft of this Order in
Council was published on 17
London and Hong Kong
(Cmnd. 9637). The draft Order provides for persons who are British
Dependent Territories citzens by virtue of a connection with Hong
Kong to lose that status on 1 July 1997 but to be entitled to apply
before that date for a new status, to be known as that of British
National (Overseas), together with a British passport recording that
Order also makes provision s to guard against
It provides for any British Dependent Territories
C itizens who lose that status and have not acquired British National
(Overseas) status on 1 July 1997 automatically to become British
Overseas citizens if they would otherwise be stateless.
children of former Hong Kong
status.
The draft
statelessness.
also be British Overseas
otherwise
The
BD TC s
on or after that date will
citizens automatically at birth if
stateless. The grandchildren of former Hong Kong BD TC s
will be entitled to be registered as British Overseas citizens if
Parliament born stateless. The draft Order will be debated in a preliminary
other interested parties have
Her Majesty's Government wil1
in these debates and will
way once the people of Hong Kong and
had an opportunity to comment on it.
take careful note of points raised
consider i f these call for any changes to be made in the terms of
for approval under
the draft Order before it is
affirmative resolution procedure.
re-presented
11.
At the
time same
as the
White Paper was
Her published
arrangements for the issue of...
British National (Overseas) passports from 1 1 July 1987. This will
enable the present practice of issuing passports with a ten-year validity period to continue without in terruption, and will give the
maximum amount of time for third countries to grow accustomed to the
new passports. Her Majesty's Government will
countries to explain the new passport to them
has been made.
Majesty's Government announced the
approaching other
on ce the draft Order
- 4
CONFIDENTIAL