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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1984
IT WAS ALSO MADE CLEAR IN THE EXCHANGE OF MEMORANDA ASSOCIATED WITH THE JOINT DECLARATION AND ITS ANNEXES THAT HONG KONG BDTC'S WHO HELD BRITISH PASSPORTS ISSUED BEFORE JULY 1, 1997 WOULD AFTER THAT DATE RETAIN AN APPROPRIATE STATUS WHICH WOULD ENTITLE THEM TO CONTINUE TO USE BRITISH PASSPORTS.
+ THE BRITISH AND HONG KONG GOVERNMENTS WILL DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO SECURE FOR THE HOLDERS OF THESE BRITISH PASSPORTS THE SAME ACCESS TO OTHER COUNTRIES AS THEY ENJOY AT PRESENT,+ HE SAID.
REFERRING TO CONCERN EXPRESSED BY THE HON MARIA TAM AND THE HON CARL TONG OVER THE FUTURE OF NON-CHINESE BDTC'S, OF WHOM THERE WERE 10 000 AT PRESENT, HE SAID THAT UNDER THE TERMS OF ANNEX I TO THE JOINT DECLARATION, NON-CHINESE BDTC'S WOULD HAVE THE RIGHT OF ABODE IN THE HONG KONG SAR IF THEY HAD ORDINARILY RESIDED IN HK FOR A CONTINUOUS PERIOD OF SEVEN YEARS, OR MORE, AND HAD TAKEN HONG KONG AS THE IR PLACE OF PERMANENT RESIDENCE.
THE CHILDREN BORN IN THE SAR AFTER 1997 TO SUCH NON-CHINESE. EDTC'S WOULD ALSO HAVE THE RIGHT OF ABODE WHILE THEY WERE UNDER 21 YEARS OF AGE, AND WOULD CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT RIGHT AFTER THE AGE OF 21 IF THEY THEMSELVES HAD LIVED IN HK FOR SEVEN YEARS, AND HAD MADE HK THE IR PLACE OF PERMANENT RESIDENCE, HE SAID."
THE ONLY PROBLEM WHICH COULD ARISE IN RESPECT OF NON-CHINESE BDTC'S CONCERNED THE NATIONALITY OF THE CHILDREN BORN TO THEM AFTER 1997, MR JEAFFRESON SAID.
THE NEW STATUS UNDER THE BRITISH NATIONALITY ACT WOULD NOT BE TRANSMISSABLE BY DESCENT.
+THUS, A CHILD BORN AFTER 1997 TO A NON-CHINESE HOLDER
WOULD HAVE NO NATIONAL ITY
OF THE NEW STATUS WOULD BE STATELESS
UNLESS EITHER PARENT HAD SOME OTHER NATIONALITY AND WAS ABLE UNDER THE LAW OF THE COUNTRY CONCERNED, TO TRANSMIT THAT NATIONALITY TO THE CHILD, OR UNLESS THE CHILD ACQUIRED AUTOMATICALLY THE NATIONAL ITY OF THE COUNTRY OF HIS BIRTH.
+BEAR ING IN MIND HMG'S INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS TO REDUCE STATELESSNESS. IT IS THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT'S FIRM INTENTION TO MAKE PROVISION, IN THE RELEVANT LEGISLATION, FOR SUCH CHILDREN TO ACQUIRE BRITISH NATIONALITY AT BIRTH IF THEY WOULD OTHERWISE BE STATELESS, + MR JEAFFRESON SAID.
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