E.K.
Article 4 is concerned with the entitlement to acquire the new
status of British National (Overseas), and to hold a BN(0)
passport.
Under the terms of the agreement BN(0) status can only
be acquired by British Dependent Territories citizens before
30 June 1997, except for those born in the first six months of
that year. Acquisition of BN(0) status will be by registration.
But the formalities will be kept to a minimum and no fee will be
charged for registration.
Article 6 sets out the Government's proposals for reducing
statelessness. During the debates last year a number of your
Lordships were concerned that British Dependent Territories
citizens who were not ethnically Chinese, and their children,
might be left stateless in 1997. The Government therefore gave a
firm undertaking that no former Hong Kong British Dependent
Territories citizen, nor any child born after June 1997 to such
a person, would remain stateless as a result of the agreement.
As your Lordships will recall, this undertaking was extended
during the Committee Stage of the Hong Kong Bill in this House
to cover the grandchildren of former Hong Kong British Dependent
Territories citizens if they were born stateless.
The Government's proposals in Article 6 are fully in accordance with
the undertakings given in your Lordships' House. They provide
that any former Hong Kong British Dependent Territories citizen
who for any reason has not acquired BN(0) status, and would
otherwise be stateless in 1997, will automatically become a
British Overseas citizen on 1 July 1997. Any of their children
born after June 1997 if they would otherwise be stateless will
also acquire British Overseas citizenship at birth: and any
of their grandchildren, if born stateless, will be entitled to registration as British Overseas citizens. These provisions
/will apply to all,
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