100053
--BS7637
IMMIGRATION
{IMMIGRATION
1.10%
TELE MENE NUMBER:
AVI CALNCE:
235111
(90) in CR 1975
Dear Michael,
CONFIDENTIAL
IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT.
INTERNATIONAL BUILDING,
141. DES VOEUX ROAD CENTRAL.
8th July, 1969.
56
Thank you for your letter reference number 40/2
dared
نان
5th May, 1969, about the delays in issuing visit Visal or the U.K. local businessmen. I am fully conscious of the trouble this causes, but as you are aware from our discussions on the subject the fundamental difficulty has always been the need to obtain prior S.B. clearance, something which plagues so much of my work.
However, in this particular context, you will be glad to hear that we have now managed to persuade the Police to accept Mallett's recommendation that visas need not be with-held pending security clearance. This means, in effect, that provided my records show nothing adverse, I should, in the normal course of events, be able to issue U.K. visas to local businessmen (who hold only our Certificate of Identity) within three days of the submission of the application. The concession will apply only to persons visiting Britain, of course, and not to those going for settlement, employment, study, etc. The change should prove most beneficial for all concerned, and personally I am very pleased with the outcome of our negotiations.
With regard to the other points raised, I am trying to arrange some relaxation, in deserving cases, of the requirement to possess return tickets and adequate funds. The main object of this, of course, is to get some proof that the applicant intends to return to Hong Kong, otherwise we get complaints from London. But it does mean that someone on my staff has to be given discretion to decide these points, and this is not an easy thing to instil. And I hestitate to place an even heavier burden on senior officers already hard pressed.
I was interested to hear you are trying to get a Telex installed. I have been trying to get one for about two years, but it is extremely difficult to get financial approval, because I can not prove we shall make a profit, and the Secretariat hov: are not very interested in arguments that the cost is justified on the grounds of increased efficiency! Whilst a Telex is unnecessary, now, in this particular context of U.K. visas for businessmen, it would help considerably with the other types of application which must be now referred to London and other visa- issuing posts by mail.
CONFIDENTIAL
Whilst....