TNAG-0661-FCO40-810-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-British-nationality-1977 — Page 15

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(2) BRITISH OVERSEAS CITIZENSHIP.

British Oversees Citizens have the unqualified right of entry to the British dependency where they are residing, and this kind of eligibility comes from acquiring a "United Kingdom and Colonies Citizenship" by birth, naturalisation or registration by the government in the dependency concerned. Thus some of the "United Kingdom and Colonies Citizens" who are now residing in a country that is not a British dependency (such as a former dependency that has become independ ont), will not be able to transmit their newly acquired "British Overscas Citizenships" to the next generation and the next, generation will bo stateless. However, the number of such persons will grow smaller with the passage of time.

As has been mentioned before, British Overseas Citizens" do not have the right to enter the United Kingdom freely The Green Faper points cut that the proposed Permanent Arrangements aim to make the right of entry to a British dependency a prerequisite of acquisition of "British Overseas Citizenship." But it does not say who ther British Citizens will have the right of entry to a British dependency after the proposed law has come into force.

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HONG KONG FEOFLE WHO HAVE ACQUIRED BRITISH CITIZENSHIPS BY

NATURALISATION ILL BE SERIOUSLY AFFECTED

After the publication of the Green Faper, some people in Hong Kong speculate that the purpose behind it is to pave the way for withdrawal of the colonial government from Hong Kong to her own "home country" when the day comes, so that she can wash her liands of Hong Kong with a clear conscience.

Should the proposed law come into force, most of the 2,600,000 "United Kingdom and Colonies Citizens" in Hong Kong (or British Citizens, as they are usually called here) will be included in the new "British Overseas Citizens group who will be, as a matter of course, denied the right to enter the United Kingdom freely. The only exceptions will be those who or whose parents (or one of them) were born in the United Kingdom, those who have stayed in the United Kingdom for a long period and a fow

female citize UMELCO RESTRICTED]

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