Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
1986 No. 948
BRITISH NATIONALITY
The Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986
Made 5th June 1986
Coming into Operation 1st July 1987
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 5th day of June 1986
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Whereas a draft of this Order has been laid before Parliament and has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament:
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, in pursuance of paragraph 2 of the Schedule to the Hong Kong Act 1985, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—
Citation, commencement, extent and interpretation
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986 and shall come into operation on 1st July 1987.
(2) This Order extends to Northern Ireland.
(3) This Order extends to the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man and to all dependent territories.
(4) Section 50 of the British Nationality Act 1981 (interpretation) shall apply to the interpretation of this Order as it applies to the interpretation of that Act.
Connections with Hong Kong
2.—(1) For the purposes of this Order a person shall be taken to have a connection with Hong Kong if—
(a)
(a) subject to paragraph (3) below, he, his father or his mother was born, naturalised or registered in Hong Kong or found abandoned there as a new-born infant; or
(b)
(b) he, his father or his mother was adopted (whether or not in Hong Kong) and the adopter or, in the case of a joint adoption, one of the adopters was at the time of the adoption a British Dependent Territories citizen by virtue of his having a connection with Hong Kong as specified in this Article; or
(c)
(c) he, his father or his mother was registered outside Hong Kong on an application based (wholly or partly) on any of the following:—
(i) residence in Hong Kong;
(ii) descent from a person born in Hong Kong;
(iii) descent from a person naturalised, registered or settled in Hong Kong (whether before or after the birth of the person registered);
(iv) descent from a person adopted (whether or not in Hong Kong) in the circumstances specified in sub-paragraph (b) above;
(v) marriage to a person who is a British Dependent Territories citizen by virtue of his having a connection with Hong Kong as specified in this Article or would have been so but for his death or renunciation of citizenship;
(vi) Crown service under the government of Hong Kong;
(vii) where citizenship has been renounced and subsequently resumed, birth, naturalisation or registration in Hong Kong; or
(d)
(d) at the time of his birth his father or mother was settled in Hong Kong; or
(e)
(e) his father or mother was born to a parent who at the time of the birth was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by virtue of his having a connection with Hong Kong as specified in this Article; or
(f)
(f) being a woman, she was married before 1st January 1983 to a man who is a British Dependent Territories citizen by virtue of his having a connection with Hong Kong as specified in this Article or would have been so but for his death.
(2) In paragraph (1) above “” means and “” shall be construed accordingly.
(3) A person born in Hong Kong on or after 1st January 1983 shall not be taken to have a connection with Hong Kong under paragraph (1)(a) above by virtue of his birth there unless, at the time of his birth, one of his parents was—
(a)
(a) settled in Hong Kong; or
(b)
(b) a British Dependent Territories citizen by virtue of his having a connection with Hong Kong as specified in this Article.
Loss of British Dependent Territories citizenship
3. Any person who, immediately before 1st July 1997—
(a) is a British Dependent Territories citizen by virtue (wholly or partly) of his having a connection with Hong Kong; and
(b) but for his having a connection with Hong Kong would not be a British Dependent Territories citizen,
shall on that date cease to be such a citizen.
Right to acquire new status of British National (Overseas)
4.—(1) On and after 1st July 1987 there shall be a new form of British nationality the holders of which shall be known as British Nationals (Overseas).
(2) Any person who is a British Dependent Territories citizen by virtue (wholly or partly) of his having a connection with Hong Kong and who, but for his having a connection with Hong Kong, would not be such a citizen shall be entitled, before 1st July 1997 (or before the end of 1997 if born in that year before that date), to be registered as a British National (Overseas) and to hold or be included in a passport appropriate to that status.
(3) Any person who, having become a British National (Overseas) by virtue of paragraph (2) above, ceases at any time before 1st July 1997 to be a British Dependent Territories citizen shall at the same time cease to be a British National (Overseas).
Removal of Hong Kong from list of dependent territories
5. On and after 1st July 1997 the British Nationality Act 1981 shall have effect as if in Schedule 6 to that Act (British Dependent Territories) the words were omitted.
Provisions for reducing statelessness
6.—(1) Where a person ceases on 1st July 1997 by virtue of Article 3 to be a British Dependent Territories citizen and would, but for this paragraph, thereby be rendered stateless, he shall become on that date a British Overseas citizen.
(2) Where a person born on or after 1st July 1997 would, but for this paragraph, be born stateless, then, if at the time of the birth his father or mother is a British National (Overseas) or a British Overseas citizen by virtue of paragraph (1) above, he shall be a British Overseas citizen.
(3) A person born stateless on or after 1st July 1997 outside the dependent territories shall be entitled, on an application for his registration as a British Overseas citizen made within the period of twelve months from the date of the birth, to be registered as such a citizen if the requirements specified in paragraph (4) below are fulfilled in the case of either that person's father of his mother (“the parent in question”).
(4) The requirements referred to in paragraph (3) above are—
(a)
(a) that the parent in question was a British Overseas citizen by virtue of paragraph (2) above at the time of the birth; and
(b)
(b) that the father or mother of the parent in question was, immediately before 1st July 1997, a British Dependent Territories citizen otherwise than by descent by virtue of having a connection with Hong Kong or would have been so but for his or her death.
(5) If in the special circumstances of any particular case the Secretary of State thinks fit, he may treat paragraph (3) above as if the reference to twelve months were a reference to six years.
British Nationality Acts
7.—(1) The British Nationality Act 1981 (“the 1981 Act”) and the British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983 (“the 1983 Act”) shall have effect subject to the following provisions of this Article.
(2) Section 4(1) of the 1981 Act (acquisition by registration: British Dependent Territories citizens, etc.) shall have effect as if after the words there were inserted the words .
(3) Section 37 of the 1981 Act (Commonwealth...
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