Apply for Citizenship if You Have British Nationality

27 July 2020

You’ve lived in Hong Kong

You may be eligible to apply if you’re ‘ordinarily resident’ in Hong Kong at the date of your application and:

  1. you were ordinarily resident there on 3 February 1997
  2. your parents were ordinarily resident there at the time of your birth if you’re a child born after 3 February 1997

Ordinarily resident means:

  1. you live in Hong Kong full-time
  2. you’re not breaking any immigration rules
  3. you’ve moved to Hong Kong voluntarily with the intention of settling there

You must also be of ‘good character’

Nationality

You must either have:

  1. been a British national on 3 February 1997
  2. become a British national after 3 February 1997

You must not have held citizenship or nationality of another country at the time or since.

You can be a national of a country even if you’ve never had a passport from there.

British National (Overseas)

Someone who was a British Overseas territories citizen by connection with Hong Kong was able to register as a British National (Overseas) before 1 July 1997.

British overseas territories citizens from Hong Kong who did not register as British nationals (overseas) and had no other nationality or citizenship on 30 June 1997 became British overseas citizens on 1 July 1997.

If you’re not already a British national (overseas), you cannot apply to become one.

Source: Gov.uk