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Immigration and Passport Work
5.
Currently Hong Kong Immigration Department (HKID)
undertake work in 2 broad categories for which the
Consulate General will be responsible after 1997:
(a) Nationality/Passport Matters.
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Applications for Naturalisation or Registration (and
for renunciation) as British Citizens, BDTCS, BN (0)s,
British Overseas Citizens and British Subjects;
Applications for passports for these forms of nationality and for British protected persons (BPPs);
Rendering consular assistance to BCs, BDTCS, BN (0)s,
BOCS, BSS and BPPS.
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HKID estimate that there will be some 3.4 million
BDTCS by 1997, all of whom will be eligible for BN (0) status. At present there are 1.98 million BDTC and
0.3 million BN (0) passport holders).
(b) Immigration Work
Handling entry applications to the UK and other
commonwealth countries.
In addition they are also responsible for processing
applications under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act
1990 (BNHKA), to provide British citizenship for 50,000 key personnel and their families. The processing of
applications for the first tranche of some 42,000 places in
the scheme should be completed by the end of 1993. The
processing of the second tranche of some 8,000 places will
take place between 1995 and 1997 (probably, though no dates
have been set).
6.
Operationally, it would be possible to transfer to the BTC the nationality/consular functions for all groups
apart from BDTCs and BN (0)s (no more than about 10,000
passport and about 40 consular cases per year).
already considered in 1988. The conclusion then was that
This was
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