TNAG-1387-FCO40-1835-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-citizenship-1986 — Page 161

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provision in British nationality law for those exercising an entitlement

to citizenship. But the terms of the Memorandum, reflecting the particular

needs of Hong Kong, link the acquisition of such citizenship with the

holding of a BN(0) passport. The passport will be evidence of citizenship

and citizenship cannot be held without such a document. So Article 4

provides an entitlement to hold a BN (O) passport. As the House will

know, there is generally no entitlement to hold British passports But

the Hong Kong Government were strongly of the view that the Order should

contain a clear entitlement to the passport, and not simply to the status.

They argued that the holding of the passport was so fundamental to the

Agreement that the people of Hong Kong would expect no less. The Government

accepted the force of Hong Kong's argument, and propose therefore to

meet their wishes in this respect. Since citizenship is an entitlement

and cannot exist without the issue of a passport it would be artificial

artificial

to attempt to separate the two. It follows from this that the formalities

going with the registration of citizenship will be kept to a minimum.

We envisage only that each person's particulars will be entered on a

central register.

No separate fee will be charged for this.

13.

Article 6 sets out the Government's proposals for reducing

statelessness. This is a matter of considerable importance and

understandable interest. The Government has given the matter the most

careful thought. During the debates last year and during the passage

of the Hong Kong Bill a number of members were concerned that the non-

ethnic Chinese British Dependent Territories citizen community in Hong

Kong, and their children, might be left stateless in 1997 because they

would not be regarded as Chinese nationals. The Government recognized

that and gave a firm undertaking that no former Hong Kong British Dependent

Territories citizen, nor any child born after June 1997 to such a person, would remain stateless as a result of the Agreement. In response to

further representations from a number of quarters, this undertaking was extended during the Committee Stage of the Bill in another place to cover the grandchildren of former Hong Kong British Dependent Territories citizens if they were born stateless. The Government will meet these undertakings. To do so, what the Government propose is that any former Hong Kong British Dependent Territories citizen who for any reason has not acquired BN(0) status,

and would otherwise be stateless in 1997, will automatically become a

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