TNAG-1562-FCO40-2126-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-passports-Hong-Kong-(Br-1986 — Page 79

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6. The children (born on or after 1 July 1997) and grandchildren of former Hong Kong BDTCs will be entitled to British Overseas Citizenship if they would otherwise

be left stateless.

RIGHT OF ABODE

7.

Right of abode in Hong Kong after 1 July 1997 cannot be secured by having British nationality of whatever status. However the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 19 December 1984

clearly sets out who is to have the right of abode in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Section XIV of Annex 1). It guarantees right of abode to:

(a)

those who have lived in Hong Kong for 7 years and have taken it as their place of permanent residence;

(b)

(c)

any of their children under 21 who were born in

Hong Kong; and

anyone who had the right of abode in Hong Kong

only before 1 July 1997.

8.

HMG have made it clear that, in the unlikely event of any British nationals being forced to leave Hong Kong and having nowhere to go, the Government of the day would be expected to consider sympathetically whether to admit them to the UK, on a case by case basis.

GENERAL

9. Taken together these measures are designed to meet the wishes expressed by the non-Chinese minority community in Hong Kong, who wish to have a continued nationality status and guarantee of the right to stay in Hong Kong. regards it as a prime duty to secure their future in Hong Kong and believe that this has been done as far as is reasonably

possible.

HMG

10. During debates in Parliament in January on the Hong Kong Nationality Order-in-Council, Ministers said that they would consider carefully all the representations which had been made on behalf of the non-Chinese minority community. information was sought and is now being evaluated. decisions have yet been taken.

Further

No