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 a Chinese-descent father in Hong Kong, and thus he held Chinese nationality in addition to his Belgian citizenship before it was lost. The person has never held any proof of Chinese nationality, including a HKSAR passport, a BN(O) passport, or a Home Return Permit, except for his British-issued Hong Kong birth certificate, which the Belgians deemed as sufficient to prove his Chinese nationality. Chinese nationality law states that a person born abroad is a Chinese national through "jus sanguinis" if: The term "settled" is usually taken to mean that the Chinese national parent has permanent residency in another country. Article