The Chinese government has begun to require Hong Kong residents holding foreign passports to choose between the two. As a large number of Hong Kong people hold Canadian passports, the move has sparked concern from the Canadian government, which has reminded Hong Kong people to declare themselves as Canadians or they will lose their right to consular protection.
The HKSAR government has not accepted British BNO passports for use in Hong Kong entry and exit, and there seems to be a trend of tightening other dual nationalities. Some Hong Kong media reported that on January 18 a Hong Kong prisoner with dual Canadian citizenship was asked to declare that he was a Canadian or Chinese citizen, and the Hong Kong Security Bureau also suddenly tightened consular visitation rights for dual national prisoners, which caused deep concern to the Canadian government, as at least 300,000 Canadian citizens living in Hong Kong, the tightening of nationality laws means that Hong Kong residents must choose between the two. Global Affairs issued a statement warning Canadians living in Hong Kong: “The Chinese Nationality Act does not recognize dual nationality, nor does Hong Kong. To ensure consular services, Canadians living in Hong Kong should always identify themselves as Canadian citizens to the authorities.” The statement also said that concerns have been expressed to the Hong Kong government for more information on changing dual citizenship.
Lawyer Lee Yat, who has immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong for more than 30 years, believes Hong Kong people with foreign passports entered the country with Hong Kong documents in the first place, which, according to official rules, means they already consider themselves Chinese citizens and that the Canadian government has no way to help them if they are arrested in case of an incident. “If you are arrested and try to claim to be Canadian and get consular protection, I’m afraid it’s too late, because your Canadian citizenship will not be recognized by the Chinese or Hong Kong authorities. Although many Hong Kong people don’t live in Canada, a Canadian passport is a good insurance policy.”
Wong Tin Lok, who works as an immigration consultant in Canada and often travels between Canada and Hong Kong, said that due to convenience, he used to enter Hong Kong with Hong Kong documents and that the future tightening of the dual citizenship policy will affect many Hong Kong people. More than 300,000 Canadian passport holders choose to live in Hong Kong for a long Time, are hoping to earn more money, do not have to pay the high Canadian income tax, enjoy the convenience of work and Life, if Hong Kong residents choose to be “foreign citizens”, will lose some of the rights of Hong Kong people, and must regularly apply for a work visa.
Wong said the most worrying thing is not which country’s citizenship, but the hegemonic style of the Chinese authorities, which puts anyone who is targeted at a security risk. “The matter of consular protection should not be seen as too perfect, too ideal. You see we have two Canadians detained in mainland China, and you see what the Canadian consul can do? The conclusion is that this regime we are discussing is incomprehensible and cannot be commented on with common sense.”
Canada is the most generous and friendly of the developed Western countries to immigrants, and also requires only three years of residence within four years for immigrants to obtain citizenship, making it a preferred destination for many Hong Kong residents.
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