Right of Abode

Hong Kong is legally part of the People's Republic of China, so there is no such thing as "Hong Kong citizenship". However Right of Abode in Hong Kong is analogous to citizenship in many other territories: it gives the right to live, work and study, vote and stand for election in Hong Kong. The Basic Law and the Immigration Ordinance define exactly who holds Right of Abode: the Hong Kong government cannot arbitrarily grant it or take it away.

Right of Abode and Chinese Nationality
Hong Kong has its own immigration laws, and Chinese nationals do not automatically have the Right of Abode in Hong Kong. Conversely, non-Chinese nationals can have Right of Abode. However, Chinese nationality affects Right of Abode in two ways:
 * The criteria for holding Right of Abode are different for Chinese nationals and non-Chinese nationals.
 * Chinese nationals cannot lose Right of Abode, wherease non-Chinese nationals can.

Chinese Nationality
Chinese nationality is defined in the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China. A person is born with Chinese nationality if one of the following is true at the time of his birth: Dual nationality is not recognised:
 * He is born in China (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) and at least one parent has Chinese nationality; or
 * He is born outside of China, and he does not obtain foreign nationality at birth; or
 * He is born outside of China, he obtains foreign nationality at birth, and at least one parent has Chinese nationality and is not settled abroad. "Settled abroad" means residing abroad whilst holding permanent residence abroad.


 * Mainland Chinese residents automatically lose Chinese nationality if they acquire another nationality.


 * Hong Kong and Macau residents do not automatically lose Chinese nationality, but their foreign nationality is not recognised by the Chinese government.

Loss of Right of Abode and Right to Land
Non-Chinese nationals automatically lose Right of Abode if they are absent from Hong Kong for 36 months. On losing Right of Abode, they acquire Right to Land. This is a similar status to Right of Abode which confers the right to live, work and study in Hong Kong. However, it does not confer the right to vote and stand for election, and it is not automatically passed on to Children born in Hong Kong.

Right of Abode by birth
A person born in Hong Kong had the Right of Abode if one of the following is true: A person born outside Hong Kong had the Right of Abode if one of the following is tr
 * He was born before 1983; or
 * He is a Chinese national; or
 * He was born before 1 July 1997, and at least one parent was settled in Hong Kong, where "settled" means ordinarily resident, without any restriction on the time he is allowed to stay; or
 * At some time before he reached 21 years of age, at east one parent had the Right of Abode in Hong Kong.