11-Jui4-1990 18741
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS BR
+ 852 846 1539
P.03
Articles 2 and 3 should be read together. Article 2 defines connections with HK for the purposes of the Order: Article 3 provides that anyone who is a BDTC by virtue of such a connection shall cease to be such a citizen on 1 July 1997.
Article 4 is concerned with the entitlement to acquire the new status of BN(0), and to hold a BN(0) passport. Under the terms of the agreement BN(0) status can only be acquired by BDTCs 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 starelessness. During the debates--last year a number of your Lordships were concerned that BETCs who were not ethically Chinese, and their children, might be left stateless in 1997. The Government therefore gave a firm undertaking that no former HK BDTC, not 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 HK Bill in this House to cover the grandchildren of former EK BDTCs 1f they ware born staceless.
The Government's proposals in Article 6 are fully in accordance with the undertakings given to your Lordships' Bouse. They provide that any former HK BDTC 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, whatever their ethaic origin. Thus non-ethnic Chinese BITC: md their descendants will be able to have a form of British parionality util well into the middle of the next century.
We accept, of course, that a continuing right of abode in HK is no less important than having a recogaised nationality status. Clearly no form of British nationality can carry with it right of abode in HK after 1997, when Britain ceases to have any jurisdiction over the Tecricory. The rights of abode in HK are necessarily safeguarded under the agreement with the Chinese, and are set out in section XIV of Annex 1 to the Joint Declaration. These provisions cover all the non-ethnic Chinese BDTCs in IK, unless they have left HK permanently and have the right of abode elsewhere.