TNAG-0901-FCO40-1111-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-British-nationality-1979 — Page 207

CONFIDENTIAL

also desirable that people who are to become British Overseas

Citizens in this way should lose their citizenship on

acquiring that of another country.

MEANS OF ACQUISITION OF BRITISH OVERSEAS

CITIZENSHIP AFTER THE ACT IS PASSED

Acquisition by Birth

16. British Overseas Citizenship should be acquired by

birth in a dependency. As in the case of British Citizenship

(see paper NLR(78)2) it would complicate matters to attach

any stipulation about the citizenship of a child's parents,

and might in some cases raise difficulties, eg with the

Chinese in Hong Kong. The question of birth in a ship

registered in a dependency has to be considered further.

Adoption

17.

An adoption ought to confer the equivalent of citizenship

by birth if it is carried out by order of a court in the

dependency and one at least of the parents is a British

Overseas Citizen by connection with that dependency.

Descent

18. It is here that a distinction should be made between

British Overseas Citizens who are born in an existing

dependency and those who are not. Those men who are should

be able to transmit their citizenship to legitimate children

born outside the dependency; but because of immigration

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