39.
In parallel with the selection scheme, the Government have
continued to encourage their international partners to do what
they can to give Hong Kong residents the confidence to remain in
the territory by offering a right of foreign abode, preferably without their having to leave the territory. The United States has introduced a special visa scheme of 36,000 places which enables employees of US companies in Hong Kong to defer their
departure from Hong Kong until the end of 2001. Singapore has a scheme which provides for 25,000 families to obtain permanent resident status in the country while remaining in Hong Kong. Several other countries have arrangements which allow a limited number of their local employees in Hong Kong to acquire a right of residence in their countries.
40. The Government have exercised discretion, within the provisions of nationality law, to reassure two groups of Hong Kong residents. The first group are the wives and widows of former
Hong Kong servicemen. The Government have taken further steps to
reassure them that they are entitled to come to the UK to settle
at any time. In July 1990, the Home Secretary widened the original assurance so that it applies whether or not the widowed spouse has citizenship of a third country, provided that she is
still resident in Hong Kong and has not remarried. There is
however no power in nationality law to grant this group of people
citizenship while they remain in Hong Kong. So they will need to
fulfil residence qualifications under the terms of the British
Nationality Act 1981 to gain citizenship.
41.
The second group involves the children of British citizen
parents in Hong Kong who can only transmit their citizenship to
children born in Hong Kong on or after 1 January 1983 (the date
when the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force). They are
not able to transmit the citizenship to children born in Hong Kong
before this date. The Home Secretary agreed last September to
look generously and speedily at applications from families in this
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