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THURSDAY, OCTOBER
THE JOINT DECLARATION WAS ACCOMPANIED BY AN EXCHANGE OF MEMORANDA BETWEEN THE UK AND CHINESE GOVERNMENTS CONCERNING THE STATUS AFTER JUNE 30, 1997 OF BDTC'S BY VIRTUE OF A CONNECTION WITH HONG KONG AND RELATED ISSUES.
THE SCHEDULE TO THE HONG KONG ACT 1985 PROVIDES FOR THE MAKIN: OF AN ORDER IN COUNCIL TO IMPLEMENT THE NATIONAL ITY_PROVISIONS IN THE UK MEMORANDUM ASSOCIATED WITH THE JOINT DECLARATION, SUBJECT TO PARLIAMENT'S POSITIVE APPROVAL UNDER THE AFFIRMATIVE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE. THE SCHEDULE TO THE HONG KONG ACT 1985 SETS UP THE FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH THE ORDER WILL FIT. THE TEXT OF THE HONG KONG ACT 1985 WILL BE GAZETTED TOMORROW (FRIDAY) AND WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS SALES CENTRE.
NATIONALITY PROVISIONS
THE ESSENCE OF THE NATIONALITY PROVISIONS OF THE DRAFT ORDER IS THAT BDTC'S BY VIRTUE OF A CONNECTION WITH HONG KONG, WILL NO LONGER HAVE THAT STATUS FROM JULY 1, 1997, SINCE HONG KONG WILL NO LONGER BE A DEPENDENT TERRITORY AS FROM THAT DATE. BUT THEY WILL BE ENTITLED TO ACQUIRE A NEW NATIONALITY STATUS, THAT OF BRITISH NATIONAL (OVERSEAS) (BN(0)), TOGETHER WITH BRITISH PASSPORTS RECORDING THAT STATUS, AND TO RETAIN IT FOR LIFE.
EXCEPT FOR CHILDREN BORN IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1997 WHO MAY APPLY FOR BN(0) PASSPORTS UP TO DECEMBER 31, 1997, EN(0) STATUS MAY NOT BE ACQUIRED AFTER JUNE 30, 1997, NOR TRANSMITTED TO ANY FUTURE GENERATIONS. AND, LIKE BDTC STATUS, IT WILL NOT CARRY WITH IT THE RIGHT OF ABODE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.
THE ARRANGEMENTS WILL APPLY ONLY TO PEOPLE WHO ARE BDTC'S BECAUSE OF THE IR CONNECTION WITH HONG KONG. ALL BUT ABOUT A FEW THOUSANDS OF THE ROUGHLY THREE AND A QUARTER MILLION BDTC'S IN HONG KONG ARE BDTC'S BY BIRTH, NATURALISATION OR REGISTRATION THERE. BUT THERE ARE A LARGE NUMBER OF POSSIBLE WAYS IN WHICH THE REMAINDER MAY HAVE ACQUIRED THEIR CITIZENSHIP STATUS THROUGH A CONNECTION WITH HONG KONG. TO HELP THOSE WHO MIGHT BE AFFECTED ANNEX 2 OF THE WHITE PAPER LISTS THE POSSIBILITIES. IS NOT INTENDED TO FORM PART OF THE DRAFT ORDER.
STATELESSNESS
THE DRAFT ORDER ALSO MAKES PROVISIONS TO GUARD AGAINSTM STATELESSNESS. IT PROVIDES THAT THOSE BDTC'S WHO CEASE TO BE EDTC'S ON JULY 1, 1997 WOULD AUTOMATICALLY BECOME BRITISH OVERSEAS CITIZENS (BOC'S) IF THEY WOULD OTHERWISE BE STATELESS.
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IT ALSO PROVIDES THAT THE CHILDREN BORN ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 1997 OF FORMER BDTC'S WOULD AUTOMATICALLY BECOME BOC'S IF THEY WOULD OTHERWISE BE STATELESS. THE GRANDCHILDREN BORN ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 1997 OF FORMER BDTC'S WOULD HAVE AN ENTITLEMENT TO REGISTER AS BOC'S WITHIN 12 MONTHS OF THE IR BIRTH IF THEY WOULD OTHERWISE BE STATELESS.
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