between
the British and
While the negotiations
Chinese Governments were going on the British Dependent
Territories citizen in Hong Kong expressed their concern
about losing British nationality when Hong Kong reverted
to Chinese sovereignty. We therefore negotiated an
exchange of memoranda with the Chinese Government under
acqui re a new form of
which Hong Kong BDTC' s could
British nationality which they could retain for life. An
Order in Council to give legislative effect to the nationality
naturel provisions of the Hong Kong Act was published on
17 October 1985 and debated for the first time in
I t provides that all British
Parliament
in January.
Dependent Territories citizens by virtue of
connection
with Hong Kong will lose that status on 1 July 1997 but
will be able to acquire a new
(Overseas) before that date and retain it for the rest of
their lives.
status of British National
particularly interested
At the moment there are
in Hong Kong, the
Pakistani origin. As
these people will be
You mentioned that you were
in the non-Chinese in Hong Kong.
about 11500 ethnic minority BD TCs
majority of whom are of Indian or
the Order in Council provides, all
eligible to acquire BN (0) status and to retain it for
In addition, because under Chinese law only
life.
BDTC's of Chinese origin in Hong Kong
citizens,
a re Chinese
in order to reduce the possibility of
statelessness for the descendents of the ethnic minority
BDTCs in Hong Kong, we have provided in the Order for the
children
and grandchildren of former
BDTCs born after