TNAG-1387-FCO40-1835-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-citizenship-1986 — Page 162

CONFIDENTIAL

British Overseas citizen on 1 July 1997. Any of their children born

after June 1997 if they would otherwise be stateless will also acquire

British Overseas citizenship at birth; and any of their grandchildren,

if born stateless, will be entitled to be registered as British Overseas

citizens. These provisions are

of particular interest to

the non-ethnic Chinese community in Hong Kong, who do not expect

automatically to become Chinese citizens in 1997. If for any reason

they do not become BN(0)s, they will nevertheless have a recognized

citizenship status, and so will their descendents until well into the

middle of the next century. These proposals, which were announced in

the House when the Hong Kong Bill was before it were widely welcomed

い

14. The Government recognise, of course, that nationality status alone

4. Fox

is not sufficient. It is equally important that those now established

in Hong Kong should continue to have a right of abode there. Clearly,

right of abode in Hong Kong after June 1997 cannot be secured by holding

any form of British nationality, since Hong Kong will no longer be part

of British territory. For this reason the Agreement made separate provisions

to safeguard rights of abode in Hong Kong. These provisions are set

out in Annex X1V of the Joint Declaration. As far as the non-ethnic

Chinese community is concerned, they guarantee the right of abode in

Hong Kong after 1997 to all those who have been ordinarily resident in

Hong Kong either before or after the establishment of the Hong Kong Special

Administrative Region for seven years, and who have taken it as their

place of permanent residence, and their children; and also to anyone

who had right of abode only in Hong Kong before 1 July 1997. These

provisions cover all the non-ethnic Chinese British Dependent Territories citizens in Hong Kong, unless they have left Hong Kong permanently and

have the right of abode elsewhere.

15. These provisions need to be considered together. Together they provide a recognized citizenship status: that of British Overseas citizen. That status would properly reflect a person's relationship with Britain.

It also ensures

no

completely that/British Dependent Territories citizens in Hong Kong will be at risk of becoming stateless. The right of abode provisiors agreed

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