Hong Kong residents with dual nationality are not entitled to foreign consular assistance, the city leader said, confirming warnings from Western diplomats that officials have begun to strictly enforce Chinese nationality regulations.
On Tuesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam confirmed that, although residents may have multiple passports, dual nationality is not recognized in Hong Kong under China’s nationality law.
“What [law] has a very specific arrangement that people [who] having foreign nationality or a right of residence elsewhere … are considered Chinese citizens in Hong Kong, “said Lam.” Likewise, they will not be entitled to consular protection, including consular visits, “she added, unless they have permission to renounce Chinese nationality.
The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs announced last week that a citizen with dual nationality in prison in Hong Kong should make a statement choosing a single nationality.
The revelation caused diplomats from Britain, Canada and the United States to move, given the potential implications for hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong in the dual-national city and those traveling there on business and tourism.
Beijing’s main legislative body laid down rules for the implementation of nationality in Hong Kong in 1996 – a year before the transfer from Britain. As a result, Hong Kong officials described the move to reject consular assistance for people with dual nationality as nothing new.
But Western diplomats say there has been a concrete change in policy because they previously had no problem visiting people with dual nationality in custody.
No Hong Kong official, including Lam, spoke publicly if an order was made to enforce nationality rules more strictly.
On Monday night, the British consulate changed its travel advice after being informed that “Hong Kong, like other parts of China, does not recognize dual nationality”.
“If you have British and Chinese nationality, you can be treated as a Chinese citizen by the local authorities, even if you enter Hong Kong with your British passport,” warned the consulate. “If that is the case, the British consulate may not be able to offer you consular assistance.”
The apparent change comes amid clashes between Beijing and Western nations over repression in the financial center following widespread protests for democracy in 2019.
The change is likely to affect Chinese citizens with dual ethnicity in Hong Kong.
Mainland China has even stricter dual citizenship laws that stipulate that people cannot have a passport from another country – although many, especially wealthy elites, simply keep it a secret. In January, the United Kingdom began offering extended visas to holders of British (foreign) national passports, to which all Hong Kong residents born before the 1997 transfer are entitled.
Beijing responded by announcing that it would no longer recognize passports.