HILL BAOL.
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
- 6 JAN 1987
ICER
PA
REGISTRY Action Taken
Mek 5/9
1199
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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
22 December 1986
From the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Ja hew
на
how Buckinghamshire,
During your visit to the FCO on 9 December you expressed an interest in HMG's policy on immigration from Hong Kong. Questions of this kind usually have some connection with nationality and therefore I shall try to describe (as briefly as possible for these complicated subjects) both the specific provisions we have made for Hong Kong British Dependent Territories Citizens as well as the more general immigration requirements for people wishing to settle in the
UK.
On nationality, you will appreciate that British Dependent Territories citizenship could not be retained by Hong Kong people after Hong Kong reverts to Chinese sovereignty. The people of Hong Kong were anxious however to retain some form of British passport even after 30 June 1997. We therefore sought and reached an agreement with the Chinese Government under which Hong Kong BDTCS may retain an appropriate status which will entitle them to continue to use British passports. The appropriate status is to be called British National (Overseas). Provided those eligible acquire it before 1 July 1997 they may retain that new status and the passport that goes with it for life. This agreement required legislation to give it effect, and accordingly an Order in Council was made on 5 June this year which introduced the new status of British National (Overseas) and conferred on Hong Kong BDTCs the right to acquire it and to hold a British passport appropriate to it. The Order comes into effect on 1 July 1987 and passports in the BN (0) status will be issued from that date. BN (0) status is not transmissible to subsequent generations.
The Order in Council also made provision to guard against statelessness. If any Hong Kong BDTC, for whatever reason, does not take up BN (0) status and if on 1 July 1997, when he loses British Dependent Territories citizenship, he has no other nationality then he automatically becomes a British Overseas Citizen. Similarly the children of former Hong Kong BDTCs born on or after 1 July 1997 will become BOCs automatically at birth if otherwise they would be stateless. The grandchildren of former HKBDTCS will be entitled to be registered as BOCs if they are born stateless.
The Earl of Buckinghamshire
The House of Lords
LONDON SW1
/On
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