Nationality law of the People's Republic of China territory "before or after" their transfer of sovereignty to China are regarded as "born in China". Those who are of ethnic Chinese origin are Chinese nationals before and after the handovers. Having said that, people born in Hong Kong or Macao in the years before handover, were usually given British nationality (mostly British Dependent Territories Citizenship) and full Portuguese citizenship, based on British and Portuguese laws. For Hong Kong residents, the "Interpretation" of the Nationality Law was adopted at the Nineteenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on May 15, 1996, a year prior to
Nationality law of the People's Republic of China Macau specifically below. There is no provision in Chinese nationality law regarding the "involuntary acquisition" of another country's nationality can cause the loss of Chinese nationality. An example would be a Chinese woman marries a man from a country observing "jus matrimonii" (e.g. Iran), in which case she automatically becomes an Iranian national upon marriage. Also, Article 9 explicitly states that only Chinese nationals residing abroad who voluntarily acquires another country's citizenship shall be deemed as forfeiture of Chinese nationality. As a result, a Chinese national residing in China with no permanent residency in any foreign countries who obtains economic