The trade mark law of Hong Kong is based on the Trade Marks Ordinance Cap. 559, which came into force on 4 April 2003 and repealed the Trade Mark Ordinance Cap 43 passed in 1873. The system established by this legislation is entirely separate to the system used in the People's Republic of China, pursuant to the "one country-two systems" policy. The superseded law and the current law share many similarities with the relevant legislation in the United Kingdom, a similarity which is also facilitated by TRIPs.
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 most 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 granted by voluntary registration to Hong Kong residents who had been British Dependent Territories citizens (BDTCs) before the transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997. Acquisition of BN(O) status was limited to the 10-year period preceding the transfer as a transitional arrangement for colonial subjects; current residents cannot newly register for this nationality.
The law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has its foundation in the English common law system, inherited from being a former British colony and dependent territory. There are several sources of law, the primary ones being statutes enacted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and case law made by decisions of the courts of Hong Kong.
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 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China passport is a passport issued only to permanent residents of Hong Kong who also hold Chinese citizenship. In accordance with the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, since the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July 1997, the passport has been issued by the Immigration Department of the Government of Hong Kong under the authorisation of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China. As the official languages of Hong Kong are Chinese and English, the passport is printed bilingually in both Chinese and English.
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.
Human rights protection is enshrined in the Basic Law and its Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap.383). By virtue of the Bill of Rights Ordinance and Basic Law Article 39, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is put into effect in Hong Kong. Any legislation that is inconsistent with the Basic Law can be set aside by the courts.
The British Nationality Selection Scheme, usually known in Hong Kong as simply the British Nationality Selection Scheme (BNSS), was a process whereby the Governor of Hong Kong invited certain classes of people, who were permanent residents of Hong Kong with the right of abode, and who were also considered British nationals under the British Nationality Act 1981, but were not British citizens, to apply to be considered and then be selected to become registered as British citizens under the British Nationality Act 1990.
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 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.
Hong Kong residents, also called Residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, according to the Hong Kong Basic Law, are 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.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) persons in Hong Kong, which is a special administrative region of China, may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents.
Director of Immigration v. Chong Fung Yuen was a 2001 case in Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal. Chief Justice Andrew Li, in the Court's unanimous opinion, affirmed lower court decisions that Chinese citizens born in Hong Kong enjoyed the right of abode regardless of the Hong Kong immigration status of their parents. The case touched on issues of interpretation of the Hong Kong Basic Law, both common law interpretation by courts in Hong Kong as well as interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) of the People's Republic of China. Professor Albert Chen of the University of Hong Kong describes the case as part of a "period of elaboration and consolidation of the regime of rights in the Hong Kong SAR", lasting roughly from 2000 to 2002.
Vallejos and Domingo v. Commissioner of Registration was a court case against the government of Hong Kong by two foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) seeking permanent residence and the right of abode in Hong Kong. Because of its subject matter it was commonly referred to in the media as the FDHs' right of abode case (外傭居港權案). Evangeline Vallejos and Daniel Domingo were two of five applicants who in various groups filed three right of abode lawsuits in 2010; the ruling in Vallejos' case was expected to be a precedent for the other two.
Fateh Muhammad v. Commissioner of Registration and Registration of Persons Tribunal was a 2001 case in the Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong by a Pakistani migrant seeking the right of abode in Hong Kong. The case concerned provisions of the Immigration Ordinance requiring that a non-Chinese national's seven years of "ordinary residence" qualifying him to apply for permanent residence immediately precede his application. The unanimous opinion, written by Justice Kemal Bokhary, ruled that those provisions were not inconsistent with the Hong Kong Basic Law. The ruling in the case temporarily disqualified the appellant from applying for permanent residency, though he was expected to qualify again a few years later.
The Immigration Ordinance is Chapter 115 of Hong Kong's Ordinances. It regulates the immigration issues of Hong Kong such as Right of Abode, immigration control, enforcement of illegal immigration by Immigration Department, etc...
