The legal battle over the right of abode began while Hong Kong was still celebrating the handover.
In the months which followed, the High Court was swamped with applications from the mainland-born children of permanent residents. It took years for those cases to work their way through the courts.
It culminated in the two judgments delivered by the Court of Final Appeal on January 29, 1999. Here is a brief guide to those two landmark decisions.
Ng Ka-ling and others vs Director of Immigration
At the heart of the case was the question of who had the right of abode under the Basic Law and whether they could stay in Hong Kong.
The applicants' argument was simple. Article 24(2) of the Basic Law says Chinese nationals 'born ... of' a permanent resident had right of abode.
The court decided that Article 24(2) gave permanent residents the unqualified right of abode. 'They are permanent residents with the right to enter [Hong Kong] and stay as long as they wish,' said the chief justice.