TNAG-1379-FCO40-1827-Future-of-Hong-Kong-legislation-Hong-Kong-Bill-1985 — Page 215

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The

da te

to

by 31 December 1997 if they were born in 1997 before 1 July).

latter will allow a short period of grace after the relevant

for the parents of newly born children to opt on their behalf

acquire the new status. The period is fixed by the UK Memorandum

and cannot be extended.

An amendment was introduced at the Committee stage in the House of

Commons to incorporate the title of the new form of nationality - British National (Overseas) in paragraph 2(1)(b) of the Schedule.

The title was agreed by the Hong Kong Executive Council and the

'Chinese Government, and was first announced by the Secretary of

State at the Second Reading in the House of Commons. The reaction

to the title in Hong Kong was favourable, and the Governor and

Executive Council advised that the title should be

should be incorporated in

the Bill at the Committee stage.

Paragraph 2(2) provides that the Order in Council may set a cut-off

date or dates before 1 July 1997 by which time applications in

respect of the new status must be made in order for them to be

valid, and that this status may be retained in 1997 by persons who

are BDTCs on 30 June 1997. The first provision is required in order

to allow sufficient time for applications to be processed so that

applicants who choose to acquire the new status will get it before 1

July 1997; the second is to prevent someone who has acquired the new

status from retaining it i f he ceases to be a BDTC before 1 July

1997. Both these are necessary to accord with the provisions of the

UK memorandum.

Paragraph 2 (3)

make

such

are

provides that the Order in Council ma y

provision for the avoidance of statelessness and may contain

supplementary, transitional and consequential provisions as

considered necessary or expedient for the purposes of the Order,

including provisions amending the British Nationality Act 1981 and

other legislation.

reflects the United

Kingdom's obligations under the UN Convention on the Reduction of

Statelessness and commitments made by Ministers in Parliament on 5

and 10 December 1984. The main categories of persons for wh om provison will need to be made

to be made are i) children born after 1 July 1997

to former Hong Kong BDTCs who are not regarded as Chinese nationals,

The first provision

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