British Nationality Selection Scheme

The British Nationality Selection Scheme was a process used to grant British citizenship to selected persons in Hong Kong between 1990 and 1997.

Basis of the scheme

Section 1(1) of the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990 gave the Home Secretary the power to register as British citizens up to 50,000 persons ("heads of families") recommended to him by the Governor of Hong Kong. The spouses and minor children of such persons were also entitled to registration under section 1(4).

This was enacted to forestall the emigration of key persons from Hong Kong in the run-up to the transfer of sovereignty to China on 30 June 1997.

Eligibility Criteria

In order to be eligible for registration under section 1(1) a person was required to be settled in Hong Kong and:

*A British Dependent Territories Citizen (BTDC) by virtue of a connection with Hong Kong, or an applicant for registration or naturalisation;
*A British National (Overseas), British Overseas citizen, British subject, or British protected person

A spouse who married the family head after that person was registered under s1(1) was required to be settled in Hong Kong on the date of the marriage in order to be eligible for registration under s1(4). Spouses and children were not subject to the nationality criteria.

No person could be registered as a British citizen under the Act on or after 1 July 1997.

Selection Scheme

The selection scheme ran in two phases in which applications for s1(1) registration were possible:

*1 December 1990 to 28 February 1991
*3 January 1994 to 31 March 1994

The Governor of Hong Kong retained the power to invite applications after that date. All applications from spouses and children for registration under s1(4) were required to be made on or before 31 December 1996.

There were four distinct schemes:
*General Occupational Class (GOC), for managers and professionals
*Entrepreneurs Class (EC), for businessmen and women
*Disciplined Services Class (DSC), for Hong Kong civil servants in police, fire, immigration, custom, correctional services.
*Sensitive Service Class (SSC), for those in a public or private sector role with particular vulnerabilities on account of their positions.

Selection of persons in the GOC and DSC classes was primarily based on a "points system".

Those who held the citizenship of another country, excluding People's Republic of China (see Home Return Permit for details), were penalised in the points test, although there was no specific bar to registration. Spouses and children seeking registration under s1(4) were not restricted in terms of what other nationality they could hold.

Consequences of Registration

A person acquiring British citizenship under section 1(1) of the Act became a British citizen "otherwise than by descent" and as a result, children born subsequently in Hong Kong (or elsewhere outside the United Kingdom) are generally entitled to British citizenship "by descent".

Spouses and children registered under s1(4) of the Act acquired British citizenship "by descent".

Any successful applicant who was a British Dependent Territories citizen lost that status on acquisition of British citizenship. Consequentially, British National (Overseas) status was also lost, if it was held.

Successful applicants also became European citizens upon registration as a British citizen.

A person acquiring British citizenship under the 1990 Act who subsequently became a citizen of another country (such as Australia) did not lose British citizenship.

According to the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the full British Citizenship obtained by Chinese nationals in Hong Kong through the "British nationality Selection Scheme" will not be recognized. These people are still Chinese nationals and will not be entitled to British consular protection in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and other parts of PRC.

ee also

*British nationality law
*British nationality law and Hong Kong
*History of British nationality law

External links

* [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1990/Ukpga_19900034_en_1.htm British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990]
* [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1990/Uksi_19902292_en_1.htm British Nationality (Selection Scheme) Order 1990]