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In Confidence
DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)
will cease to be a British Dependent Territory after 30
June 1997, it will no longer be appropriate for people
who are BDTCs by virtue of a connection with Hong Kong to
be described as such after that date. The Exchange of
Memoranda associated with the Joint Declaration provides
for such people to acquire a new status, which will carry
benefits similar to those enjoyed by BDTSC, such as the
entitlement to use a British passport and to receive
British consular protection in third countries.
status will not, however, be transmissible to later
The British Nationality (Hong Kong)
generations.
The new
Order 1986, which was fully debated in Parliament,
created the new status of British National (Overseas).
54.
The Hong Kong Government began issuing passports
with the new BN (0) status from 1 July 1987. This was in
order to continue the existing practice of issuing
passports with a 10 year validity and to allow maximum
time for third countries to get used to the new
nationality status. The new BN(0) status will be
acquired by former Hong Kong BDTCs only if they obtaina
British passport before 1 July 1997. The Government
launched a diplomatic campaign to secure worldwide
recognition of the new document as a fully valid British
passport. No country has said that it would not
recognise the new BN (0) pasport.
;
55. The position of the Chinese Government as stated
the Chinese Memorandum is that all Hong Kong Chinese är
Chinese nationals. But the Memorandum indicates that