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Hong Kong Act 1985.
20 JANUARY 1986
The Deputy Speaker: Clear the bar.
[ LORDS]
My Lords. tellers for the Not-Contents have not been appointed, pursuant to Standing Order No. 51. A Division therefore cannot take place, and I declare that the "Contents" have it.
Motion agreed to accordingly.
7.16 p.m.
Hong Kong Act 1985: Nationality Provisions
Lord Glenarthur rose to move, That this House takes note of the White Paper on the nationality provisions of the Hong Kong Act 1985 (Cmnd. 9637). The noble Lord said: My Lords, the White Paper before us sets out the Government's proposals for implementing the nationality provisions of the Hong Kong Act 1985. With the White Paper is a draft Order in Council to enact these provisions. The provisions arise out of the Sino-British joint declaration on Hong Kong and the associated exchange of memoranda. Your Lordships will recall that following the debates just over a year ago my right honourable friend the Prime Minister went to Peking to sign the agreement.
The schedule to the Hong Kong Act enabled provision to be made by Order in Council for number of matters concerning nationality. It provided that British dependent territories citizens by virtue of a connection with Hong Kong will lose that citizenship on 1st July 1997, but will be entitled to acquire a new form of nationality, that of British National (Overseas). The schedule also enabled provision to be made. among other matters, for the avoidance of statelessness. The Sino-British agreement and the Hong Kong Act have therefore already established the framework within which the Order in Council must fit.
Today's debate fulfils the Government's commitment during the earlier debates to produce "an order with green edges". The White Paper was published in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong on 17th October, and the people of Hong Kong had a good opportunity to comment on it. As your Lordships will know, it was debated in the Hong Kong Legislative Council on 4th December 1985. Following that debate. the Council issued a letter on 3rd January asking the Government to make some amendments. They asked for BN(O) passports to be endorsed to the effect that the holder did not need entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for a visit. And they supported the request by the non-ethnic Chinese. minorities in Hong Kong-that is. those that are not ethnically Chinese-that they, as well as a small number of former servicemen in Hong Kong, should be granted British citizenship. The Legislative Council passed a formal motion on 8th January asking the Hong Kong Government to
to urge the British Government to implement these proposals. No doubt many of your Lordships will wish to reflect on the Legislative Council's views today. I shall listen carefully to what your Lordships have to say, and we shall consider whether we need to amend any of the provisions in the order as a result. We shall then formally lay a draft nationality order before Easter.
Turning to the order itself, it affects only those people who are British dependent territories citizens.
Nationality Provisions
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by virtue of a connection with Hong Kong. But it is necessary for the order to define what is meant by “a connection with Hong Kong". Article 2 provides that definition. It sets out as simply and logically as possible the ways in which a person may have a connection with Hong Kong, and it includes all the Hong Kong British dependent territories citizens listed in Annex 2 to the White Paper. Annex 2 itself is simply intended to help people find our whether or not they come within the terms of Article 2.
Articles 2 and 3 should be read together. Article 2 defines connections with Hong Kong for the purposes of the order. Article 3 provides that anyone who is a British dependent territories citizen by virtue of such a connection shall cease to be such a citizen on 1st July 1997.
Article 4 is concerned with the entitlement to acquire the new status of British National (Overseas) and to hold a BN(O) passport. Under the terms of the agreement. BN(O) status can only be acquired by British dependent territories citizens before 30th June 1997. except for those born in the first six months of that year. Acquisition of BN(O) status will be by registration. But the formalities will be kept to a minimum and no fee will be charged for registration.
Article 6 sets out the Government's proposals for reducing statelessness. During the debates last year a number of your Lordships were concerned that British dependent territories citizens who were not ethnically Chinese, and their children, might be left stateless in 1997. The Government therefore 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. As your Lordships may recall. this undertaking was extended during the Committee stage of the Hong Kong Bill in your Lordships House to cover the grandchildren of former Hong Kong British dependent territories citizens if they were born stateless.
The Government's proposals in Article 6 are fully in accordance with the undertakings given in your Lordships' House. They provide that any former Hong Kong British dependent territories citizen who for any reason has not acquired BN(O) status. and would otherwise be stateless in 1997, will automatically become a British Overseas citizen on 1st July 1997. Any of their children born after June 1997, if they would otherwise be stateless, will also acquire British overseas citizenships at birth; and any of their grandchildren, if born stateless, will be entitled to registration as British overseas citizens. These provisions will apply to all, whatever their ethnic origin. Thus non-ethnic Chinese British dependent territories citizens and their descendants will be able to have a form of British nationality until well into the middle of the next century.
We accept, of course, that a continuing right of abode in Hong Kong is no less important than having a recognised nationality status. Clearly no form of British nationality can carry with it right of abode in Hong Kong after 1997, when Britain ceases to have any jurisdiction over the territory. The rights of abode in Hong Kong are necessarily safeguarded under the agreement with the Chinese, and are set out in Section XIV of Annex 1 to the joint declaration. These
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