Right of abode in Hong Kong entitles a person to live and work in the territory without any restrictions or conditions of stay. Someone who has that right is a Hong Kong permanent resident. Foreign nationals may acquire the right of abode after meeting a seven-year residency requirement and are given most rights usually associated with citizenship, including the right to vote in regional elections. However, they are not entitled to hold territorial passports or stand for office in some Legislative Council constituencies, unless they also naturalise as Chinese citizens.
The British Nationality Act 1981 (c.61) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning British nationality since 1 January 1983.
British National (Overseas), abbreviated BN(O), is a class of British nationality associated with the former colony of Hong Kong. The status was acquired through voluntary registration by individuals with a connection to the territory who had been British Dependent Territories citizens (BDTCs) before the handover to China in 1997. Registration for BN(O) status was limited to the 10-year period preceding the transfer as a transitional arrangement for colonial subjects; current residents cannot newly acquire this nationality.
Belonger status is a legal classification normally associated with British Overseas Territories. It refers to people who have close ties to a specific territory, normally by birth or ancestry. The requirements for belonger status, and the rights that it confers, vary from territory to territory.
The Hong Kong Certificate of Identity (CI) was a formal travel document and passport, issued by the Hong Kong Government's Immigration Department until 30 June 1997. It is no longer possible to possess a valid CI as a travel document, as all CIs have expired by 30 June 2007, though most CI holders should be eligible to hold the HKSAR Passport.
The Immigration Department of the Government of Hong Kong is responsible for immigration control of Hong Kong. After the People's Republic of China assumed sovereignty of the territory in July 1997, Hong Kong's immigration system remained largely unchanged from its British predecessor model. Residents from mainland China do not have the right of abode in Hong Kong, nor can they enter the territory freely, both before and after 1997. There are different regulations that apply to residents of Macau, another Special Administrative Region of China. In addition, visa-free entry acceptance regulations into Hong Kong for passport holders of some 170 countries remain unchanged before and after 1997.
British nationality law as it pertains to Hong Kong has been unusual ever since Hong Kong became a British colony in 1842. From its beginning as a sparsely populated trading port to today's cosmopolitan international financial centre and world city of over seven million people, the territory has attracted refugees, immigrants and expatriates alike searching for a new life.
This article concerns the history of British nationality law.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Document of Identity for Visa Purposes is a biometric travel document issued by the Hong Kong Immigration Department to residents of Hong Kong who are unable to obtain a national passport. It is usually valid for seven years.
Chinese nationality law details the conditions in which a person holds People's Republic of China (PRC) nationality. Foreign nationals may naturalize if they are permanent residents in any part of China or they have immediate family members who are Chinese citizens. Residents of the Taiwan Area are also considered Chinese citizens, due to the PRC's extant claim over areas controlled by the Republic of China (ROC).
The Hong Kong identity card is an official identity document issued by the Immigration Department of Hong Kong. According to the Registration of Persons Ordinance, all residents of age 11 or above who are living in Hong Kong for longer than 180 days must, within 30 days of either reaching the age of 11 or arriving in Hong Kong, register for an HKID. HKIDs contain amongst others the name of the bearer in English, and if applicable in Chinese. The HKID does not expire for the duration of residency in Hong Kong.
The Touch Base Policy was an immigration policy in British Hong Kong from 1974 to 1980 towards the Refugee wave from the People's Republic of China to British Hong Kong. Under the policy, illegal immigrants from China could stay in Hong Kong if they reached urban areas and found a home with their relatives or other forms of accommodation.
The visa policy of Hong Kong deals with the requirements in which a foreign national wishing to enter Hong Kong through one of the 15 immigration control points must meet to obtain an entry permit or Visa, which depending on the traveller's nationality, may be required to travel to, enter, and remain in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Visitors from over 145 countries are permitted without Visa entry for periods ranging from 7 to 180 days, to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for tourism or certain business-related activities. All visitors must hold a passport valid for more than 1 month.
The Hong Kong Basic Law classifies residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as either permanent residents or non-permanent residents. Hong Kong residents have rights under the Basic Law including freedom of speech, freedom of movement and freedom of religious belief.
The British National (Overseas) passport, commonly referred to as the BN(O) passport, is a British passport for persons with British National (Overseas) citizenship. BN(O) citizenship was created in 1987 after the enactment of Hong Kong Act 1985. BN(O) citizens are permanent residents of Hong Kong who were British Overseas Territories citizens until 30 June 1997, and chose to remain British by registering for BN(O) citizenship when Hong Kong was a British overseas territory.
Mainland Chinese or Mainlanders are Chinese people who live in or have recently emigrated from mainland China, defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) except for Hong Kong, Macau, and the partly-PRC-controlled South China Sea Islands, and also excluding certain territories that are claimed by the PRC but not controlled, namely Taiwan aka the "Republic of China" (ROC), which is a state with limited recognition, and other associated territories that are ruled by Taiwan. The term also refers to historical groups of people of Chinese origin who immigrated to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan during the 20th century, especially in the context of specific historical events.
The Immigration Department of Malaysia is a department of the Malaysian federal government that provides services to Malaysian citizens, permanent residents and foreign visitors. The department is responsible for issuing passports, travel documents, visas, passes and permits; administering and managing the movement of people at authorised entry and exit points; and enforcing immigration legislation including the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Passport Act 1966. The department is a section of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Immigration Service Ordinance is Chapter 331 of Hong Kong's Ordinances. It was introduced in 1961 as Cap 30 to create the Immigration Department which was previously under the control of Hong Kong Police Force since the 1940s.
Alan John Carter was a British and Hong Kong immigration official. He was the Director of Immigration of Hong Kong from 1983 to 1989, being the last expatriate to hold the office. He died in April 2016 at the age of 86.
Ng Ka Ling v Director of Immigration was a joint appeal of three cases decided in 1999 by Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal (CFA). Chief Justice Andrew Li, in the Court's unanimous opinion, held that mainland-born children of Hong Kong permanent residents enjoyed the right of abode, regardless of whether one of their parents have acquired Hong Kong permanent residency at the time of birth of the children.
