British Nationality Order 1993
[EARL FERRERS]
[LORDS]
and their related passports. I do not think that those nationality statuses-or "stati"-are in any way inferior to British dependent territory citizenship. There are over a million people in the world who have British overseas citizenship and the British overseas citizenship passport is well established. Holders of those passports and of British national (overseas) passports do not need entry clearance for visits to the United Kingdom; although, like anyone else, they do need entry clearance if they wish to come here on a more permanent basis. Both the British national (overseas) and British overseas citizen passports give the holders an entitlement to register as British citizens, provided that they have completed five years' residence in the United Kingdom and that they have achieved settled status.
My noble friend Lord Marlesford was concerned about the latter. Such people do not need entry clearance. They can stay for six months, but, like everyone else who wants to stay longer, they have to apply under the immigration rules for settlement in the United Kingdom. Thereafter, after they have been here for five years, they are entitled to British citizenship.
Those passports also confer British consular protection anywhere in the world, and will do so in the Hong Kong special administrative region after 1997, provided that the holders are not Chinese nationals as well. The ethnic minorities who at present hold British dependent territory citizenship will, therefore, be in no worse position in those respects after becoming British national (overseas) or British overseas citizens than they are now.
to
I turn now to the right of abode, which is a matter
which many
many speakers referred. The Joint Declaration and Article 24(6) of the Basic Law guarantee the ethnic minorities the right of abode in Hong Kong if they do not have a right of abode. elsewhere. The Chinese authorities have made it quite clear that those people are welcome to remain and that, if they so wish, they can apply for Chinese citizenship. Their right of abode position will, therefore, be exactly the same after 1997 as it was before.
I shall now deal with the condition of statelessness. I believe that many speakers referred to it, including the noble Lord, Lord Wilson. People claim that those ethnic minorities, their children and their grandchild- ren will be left stateless. If I may say so, that is not strictly accurate. Specific provision was made in Article 6 of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986 in order to deal with that problem. I should perhaps remind your Lordships that the Article says:
"Where a person ceases on the 1st July 1997 by virtue of Article 3 to be a British Dependent Territory Citizen and would, but for this paragraph, thereby be rendered stateless, he shall become on that date a British Overseas Citizen”.
They are not in fact being rendered stateless. People who have British nationality-that is, British dependent territory citizens, British nationals (over- seas) or British overseas citizens-before 1997 will
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retain British nationality after 1997. They will have the status of either British nationals (overseas) or British overseas citizens.
The children of those who become British overseas citizens or British nationals (overseas) under the 1986 order will automatically become British overseas citizens if they would otherwise be stateless. Their grandchildren will have an entitlement to acquire British overseas citizenship by registration, if they would otherwise be stateless. They will not in fact be stateless. This is all provided for under Article 6. Then we come to the problem of passing nationality to future generations. There is concern that people would be unable to pass that on to future generations. That is perfectly true, but these people are in no way unique in that.
No form of British nationality will be transmissible indefinitely in Hong Kong. The British Government cannot give indefinite rights to transmit nationality from one generation to the next, especially where the territory in question will then be non-British. These limitations with regard to future generations would apply even to those who had been given British citizenship but who had decided to continue to live in Hong Kong.
I accept that these are delicate and sensitive matters. I know that your Lordships are concerned. We have tried to meet the anxieties in the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act. We have tried to make these arrangements so that everyone in their different categories would be able to take advantage of them. It would be difficult to make a special provision to give the ethnic minorities British citizenship. They are, of course, free to apply, like everyone else, under the selection scheme which was set up under the Act. I believe that the noble Lord, Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, said that the ethnic minorities had been left out. I do not believe that that is the case. They can apply under the scheme. Some hundreds have done so, and there is about a 60 per cent. success rate. It is expected that hundreds will have been successful by the end of the exercise. Records for the selection scheme are not maintained on the basis of ethnic origin, but I understand that a check was made on the basis of surnames which indicated that the ethnic minorities who have applied have been successful in the same proportion as other applicants.
I do not think the selection scheme itself could give preference to ethnic minorities. It is designed on an impartial and objective basis with points awarded according to certain criteria. We have been prepared to give an assurance to the ethnic minorities relating to their admission to the United Kingdom in the event of their coming under pressure to leave Hong Kong. I, like other noble Lords, agree that these people have given great service to Hong Kong. I believe that they should be adequately looked after in so far as we reasonably can do so. But that applies also to other people in Hong Kong. We have tried to be fair with all of them.
We have, however, given an assurance to the ethnic minorities. We do not expect that any members of the non-Chinese ethnic minority will be forced to leave Hong Kong after 1997. Their right of abode in the
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