British National Overseas passports will no longer be a valid travel pass according to the Hong Kong government. This new rule has put Pakistanis, Indians, Nepalis, and other minority communities in a fix.
According to the immigration department, from January 31st onwards, residents require Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Passport or Identification card to enter or leave the country. The British National Overseas Document will be invalid for this purpose. This rule comes in the wake of a dispute between China and Britain over London Citizenship for Hong Kong residents who are eligible for British National Overseas Passport.
Since Chinese have dual citizenship, the Clannish Minority group will find it difficult to apply for the HKSR passport. That is why they are using the British National Overseas Passport as their travel pass.
The ones applying for HKSR passports are required to forsake their Nationality and prove that they have roots in Hong Kong as well as offer a donation to the Regional Committee. But a Chinese Newspaper reported that the Immigration officers are denying the applications and are rejecting the Clannish Minority groups.
According to the new law, the residents who don’t carry the HKSR passports and are planning to travel abroad are required to get hold of an identification certificate to apply for the Visa. This process might take 5 days and will affect only a few people according to the government. But in reality, a lot of Indians, Pakistanis, and Nepalis are suffering because of this new rule. Not only is the new law ambiguous but there is a visible prejudice against the Clannish Minority groups by the Immigrant officers.
In the event of the passing of the Beijing National Security law around 5.4 million Hong Kong residents with British National Overseas status was given citizenship last July with London introducing new Visas. In reply to Beijing declared that the travel identification documents will not be used as passports anymore.