TNAG-1384-FCO40-1832-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-citizenship-1985 — Page 54

CONFIDENTIAL

Provisions for reducing statelessness

The

24.

Article 6 sets out the provisions proposed during the debates

on the Hong Kong Bill for avoiding or reducing statelessness.

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 Joint Declaration. This principle was extended in the

Committee stage of the Hong Kong Bill in the House of Lords to the

grandchildren of former BDTCs if they are born stateless (Official

Report: Volume 461, Number 60, Columns 237 and 238). The

provisions in respect of these grandchildren parallel those of

section 17(2) and (3) of the British Nationality Act 1981. These

provide that a child born outside the Dependent Territories is

entitled to be registered as a BDTC if an application is made within

12 months of the birth and if:

a) his or her mother or father ("the parent in question")

was a BDTC by descent at the time of the birth and

b) the father or mother of the parent in question was a

BDTC otherwise than by descent at the time of the birth

of the parent in question, or became such a BDTC on

1 January 1983, or would have done so but for his or her

death; and

c) the parent in question, unless the child is born

stateless, was in a dependent Territory for some period

of 3 years prior to the birth, without being absent for more

than 270 days during that period.

25.

Article 6(1) provides that those Hong Kong BDTCs who

have not acquired BN(0) status, for whatever reason, should

automatically acquire British Overseas citizenship on 1 July 1997 if

they would otherwise be stateless. In addition it makes similar

provision for those (somewhat unlikely) persons who cease to be

BN(0)s on 1 July 1997 under Article 4(3), if they too would

otherwise be stateless.