New rules explained
I refer to the letter headlined, 'Confused', from Martin Bode (Sunday Morning Post, September 29). Mr Bode asked us to clarify whether non-Chinese citizens could acquire the right of abode in Hong Kong. He also complained about the difficulties he encountered in obtaining the relevant application forms.
On the question of right of abode, the position is that before July 1, 1997, most non-Chinese citizens could not acquire the right of abode in Hong Kong unless they belonged to one of the following categories of persons as defined in the Immigration Ordinance: (a) Persons wholly or partly of Chinese race who had at any time been ordinarily resident in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than seven years; (b) British Dependent Territories citizens having a connection with Hong Kong (for example, by birth, naturalisation or registration in Hong Kong), or who had at any time been married to such a citizen; and, (c) Commonwealth citizens who immediately before January 1, 1983 had the right to land in Hong Kong by virtue of being a Hong Kong belonger (for example, being a British subject by birth, naturalisation or registration in Hong Kong, or who was married to, or was the child of, such a British subject).
On July 1, 1997, the Immigration Ordinance was amended to implement the right of abode process in the Basic Law. Non-Chinese citizens can now become Hong Kong permanent residents and acquire the right of abode if they meet the requirements in paragraph 2(d) of Schedule 1 to the Immigration Ordinance. This is as follows: 'A persons not of Chinese nationality who has entered Hong Kong with valid travel documents, have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period for not less than seven years and has taken Hong Kong as their place of permanent residence before or after the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.' For the purpose of calculating the seven-year continuous residence, paragraph 1(4)(b) of Schedule 1 to the Immigration Ordinance states that the period must be immediately before the date when the person applies to the Director of Immigration for the status of a permanent resident of the HKSAR. For the purpose of establishing permanent residence, a non-Chinese citizen is required, under paragraph three of the same schedule, to demonstrate that he has taken Hong Kong as his place of permanent residence by making a declaration in the prescribed form and to provide the Director of Immigration with relevant supporting information.
I hope the above information will clarify any doubts Mr Bode may have on this matter. Regarding the difficulties Mr Bode experienced in obtaining the application forms, they were made available to the public only from June 24.
If Mr Bode or any of his friends approached our department before that date, forms could not have been made available to them.
It is difficult to establish now what exactly happened when an expatriate friend of Mr Bode inquired again in September. We have so far distributed about 82,000 application forms and 20,000 persons have acquired the right of abode since July 1. If advice was given that non-Chinese nationals could not apply for the right of abode in Hong Kong that was certainly wrong and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. We have reminded our staff on public inquiry duties to make sure that the correct advice on right of abode is given. When we contacted Mr Bode on October 6, we were pleased to know that he had already obtained the relevant application form.