In response to the letter which appeared in these columns on April 21, headlined, 'Unfair citizenship law divides families', I would like to clarify certain aspects of the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997 which were raised by your correspondent.
The purpose of the act was to address the concerns of members of the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong who held only British nationality, that they faced the risk of becoming stateless if they came under pressure to leave Hong Kong.
It followed that one of the key criteria for citizenship under this legislation was that an applicant must be solely British and not hold any other nationality (both immediately before February 4 1997 - the date the act came into law - and on the date of application for British citizenship).
Applications made on behalf of children are considered in their own right, in the same way as those of adults.
Just as for adults, one of the key criteria is whether the applicant is solely British and does not hold any other nationality.
A child is likely to have acquired the same nationality as a parent who was born in another country and held the nationality of that country at the time of child's birth.
