I REFER to the letter headlined, 'Passport poser' (South China Morning Post, November 27) and would like to clarify the two points raised by your reader Mr David Ng.
According to article 27 of the British Nationality (Hong Kong) (Selection Scheme) Order 1990, if an applicant who applies under the general occupational class or the disciplined services class possesses a citizenship which confers upon him or her a right of abode in a country or territory outside Hong Kong or the People's Republic of China, 200 points shall be deducted from the total points scored.
Therefore, for the purpose of satisfying the statutory requirements under the scheme, it is necessary to ask the applicant to confirm whether he or she has another foreign nationality/citizenship (other than Chinese nationality).
There is no intention whatsoever to define whether or not the applicant has Chinese nationality.
As regards your reader's worry about becoming stateless if a Hong Kong BDTC does not obtain a BN(O) passport before July 1, 1997, Article 6 of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986 sets out the provisions to avoid statelessness.
It states that where a person ceases on July 1, 1997 to be a Hong Kong BDTC, he shall become on that date a British Overseas citizen if he has no other citizenship or nationality.