Right of abode in Hong Kong
[5] Nationality law reform in 1981 reclassified the vast majority of Hong Kong belongers as British Dependent Territories citizens (BDTCs).
[9] Although the border was guarded, the Hong Kong government was relatively lax in deporting illegal immigrants due to a shortage of unskilled labour within the territory, allowing large numbers of them to register as residents.
[10] Still, colonial authorities held almost unlimited discretionary deportation powers over Chinese migrants until 1971, when those resident in the territory for more than seven years were given the right to land.
Under this system, illegal immigrants captured by law enforcement were immediately deported but those who had managed to reach urban areas of Hong Kong and found housing accommodation were given legal status.
Chinese nationality is usually conferred by descent to children born abroad, unless the parents have obtained permanent residency in another country or foreign citizenship.
[24] Ordinarily resident in this context excludes certain classes of people, including central government officials, foreign domestic helpers, and incarcerated individuals.
[30] After the transfer of sovereignty, if these individuals did not also acquire Chinese nationality or return to Hong Kong within three years, they would be nonpermanent residents with the right to land.
[36] Chinese nationals with territorial right of abode are eligible to hold Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports, which are different from those issued to mainland residents.
[37] Those who additionally do not possess right of abode in foreign countries may stand for office in geographical constituencies of the Legislative Council[38] and can serve as principal officials of the government.
[50][51] The regional government expected that 1.67 million new immigrants from the mainland would seek to acquire the right of abode on these terms over the next decade,[52] and projected that Hong Kong would not be able to absorb such a sudden population increase.
[53] The NPCSC duly issued an interpretation that reinforced requirements for mainland exit procedures and restricted eligibility for right of abode to the criteria as it was before the CFA rulings.
[57] Additionally, the regional government believed that revising the Basic Law would delay resolving the issue for too long since amendments require review by the entire National People's Congress, which only meets once each spring.
[53] The Court of Final Appeal issued a further ruling in 2001 that all Chinese nationals born in Hong Kong would have right of abode in the region, even if neither parent was a permanent resident.
[48] Overcrowding in hospital maternity wards became a major factor in contributing to growing consternation among residents and the emergence of a hostile environment against mainland tourists.
[59] Foreign domestic helpers (FDHs), live-in female household workers mostly from the Philippines or Indonesia, constitute the largest non-Chinese minority group in Hong Kong.
[64] However, in 2013, the Court of Final Appeal upheld existing government exclusion of FDHs from right of abode eligibility in Vallejos v Commissioner of Registration.
[66] The current regulatory environment for FDHs, including the lack of access to right of abode,[67] continues to be criticised for making this class of minorities particularly vulnerable to domestic exploitation and abuse.
