TNAG-1383-FCO40-1831-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-citizenship-1985 — Page 183

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CONFIDENTIAL

subsequently renounces or is deprived of BDTC status before 30 June

would not meet this requirement, and could not therefore retain BN (0)

status.

Removal of Hong Kong from list of dependent territories

19.

Article 5: this Article deletes Hong Kong from the list of

dependent territories on 1 July 1997.

Provisions for reducing statelessness

20.

Paragraph 6 sets out the provisions agreed by Parliament for avoiding

or reducing statelessness. The underlying principle is that no former BDTC,

nor any child born on or after 1 July 1997 to such a person, should be

stateless as a result of the agreement. This principle was extended in

the Committee Stage in the Lords to the grandchildren of former BDTCs

if they would otherwise be stateless, by means of provisions which parallel

those of section 17(2) to (4) of the 1981 Act.

21.

Article 6(1) provides for those BDTCs who have not acquired BN(0)

status, for whatever reason, automatically to acquire BOC on that date if

they would otherwise be stateless. But the provision necessarily goes

further than this. Although the Memorandum restricts the acquisition of

BN (0) status to those who were BDTCs immediately before 1 July 1997, we

need to cater for the rather fanciful position of a person who, having

acquired BN (0) some years previously, then renounces BDTC. Since the two

statuses are quite distinct, there is nothing to stop him doing this: he

would not be stateless on renunciation of BDTC because he would still have

BN (0) status. Such a person would, following renunciation of BDTC therefore

remain a BN (0), but would have to lose this on 1 July 1997 under Article

4(3). If he had no other nationality, he would at that point become

stateless. It would be difficult to argue that his statelessness was not

then a result of the Agreement, and we are committed to ensuring that

no former BDTC will so become stateless. Subject to Ministerial agreement,

it seems that we will therefore have to pick up those (highly unlikely)

persons who found themselves in this situation. The alternative would be

to require anyone who had acquired BN(0) status and who then proposed to

renounce BDTC, to renounce both. If such renunciation would then render

him stateless, registration of his renunciation would have to be refused

- 5.

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