Chief Executive Carrie Lam has confirmed that the Hong Kong government is strictly enforcing a policy limiting the rights of dual citizens, following the British Consulate’s advice that such citizens may not receive consular assistance in Hong Kong.

Lam said that unless a person has successfully applied to renounce their Chinese nationality, they would still be regarded as Chinese while in Hong Kong.

She referred to an explanatory document issued in 1996 by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, which states that Chinese nationals in Hong Kong were not entitled to foreign consular protection even if they hold a foreign passport.

“So that is very clear,” Lam said. “We are strictly enforcing, or implementing, that particular policy.”

The British Consulate General in Hong Kong yesterday updated its travel advice, saying that it had been informed that Hong Kong, “like other parts of China,” does not recognize dual nationality.

“If you have both British and Chinese nationality you may be treated as a Chinese citizen by local authorities, even if you enter Hong Kong on your British passport,” the advice read.

The updated advice follows an announcement from Canada’s foreign ministry last week that a detained Canadian dual national in Hong Kong had been required in January to declare one nationality, in a departure from previous practice.

Carrie Lam reiterated today that dual nationality is “certainly not recognized” in China’s nationality law, meaning that the provisions of the Vienna Convention governing consular access do not apply to dual nationals in Hong Kong.

Although China’s nationality law has applied in Hong Kong since the handover in 1997, its enforcement has normally not prevented diplomats in Hong Kong from providing consular assistance to such citizens.

The British Consulate’s advice said that those who have formally renounced Chinese citizenship should carry evidence of having done so.

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