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IV.
EMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY
13.
Emigration from Hong Kong reached a record high in 1990, with an estimated outflow of some 62,000 people compared to 42,000 in 1989. The level of emigration is not expected to decline in the immediate future.
14. Many of those leaving are well-educated and professionally qualified people, particularly in the age group of 25-44. This loss of experienced and well-qualified personnel has inevitably put severe pressure on the supply of skilled manpower to fill key positions in Hong Kong.
15. Many of these emigrants are leaving Hong Kong only in order to obtain the insurance of a foreign passport. If they could acquire such an assurance without leaving Hong Kong, many of them would prefer to stay. With these considerations in mind, the Government introduced a nationality scheme to give full British citizenship to 50,000 key people and their dependants without requiring them to leave the territory in order to qualify. The British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act received Royal Assent on 26 July 1990. The British Nationality (Hong Kong) (Selection Scheme) Order 1990, setting out details of the selection scheme, came into force on 1 December 1990.
16. The scheme will be operated in two tranches. Over 65,750 applications were received for 43,250 places under the first tranche. These applications are now being processed. A second tranche will be reserved for allocation nearer to 1997 in order to cater for those who will by then have moved into key positions and to give anyone who failed to secure a place in the first round a second chance.
ALAAEV/6
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