Right of abode in Hong Kong policies since the 1950s. With the Handover imminent in 1997, the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law defined who may reside in Hong Kong once China assumes sovereignty over Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong was created a British colony in 1842, those who were born in the territory or become naturalised had British nationality. This included the right to enter and live in United Kingdom in addition to Hong Kong. By the 1960s, the United Kingdom passed the "Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962" and "Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968". Anticipating immigration waves from former and current colonies in Africa and Asia
Handover of Hong Kong territories were secured and conditions were ripe for its gradual abrogation. A few months after Thatcher's visit to Beijing, the PRC government had yet to open negotiations with the British government regarding the sovereignty of Hong Kong. Shortly before the initiation of sovereignty talks, Governor Youde declared his intention to represent the population of Hong Kong at the negotiations. This statement sparked a strong response from the PRC, prompting Deng Xiaoping to denounce talk of "the so-called 'three-legged stool'", which implied that Hong Kong was a party to talks on its future, alongside Beijing and London. At the preliminary stage