PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL
THE
CONVENT,
GIBRALTAR.
on it, and I think that a good deal more thought will be needed to establish whether it is really feasible. His starting point is the need to preserve for the people of Gibraltar the option to settle in Britain if links with Spain ever become so close that they, or some of them, can no longer tolerate life here. For that, he says, the present administrative concession, or even an administrative guarantee of entry into and settlement in Britain is not enough. Those born, registered or naturalised in Gibraltar should be given the right to register as British citizens when the Bill becomes law, or at anytime during an extended period into the future, without being required to fulfill any test of residence in the United Kingdom: they will then be able to make use of the "safety net" if it is ever necessary. However, because the right will be there for years to come, many people will not bother to exercise it unless they finally decide to move to Britain for good. Hassan has promised to let me have full details of his proposals once he has worked them out fully and discussed them with his colleagues, and with Isola and Bossano. He does not see them as an alternative to the second option (paragraphs 5-7 above) but as complementary to it: he agrees on the need to provide for a more clearly defined identity for the citizens of each dependent territory, and indeed his own. scheme would make it necessary to define from the outset those who would be entitled to take advantage of it. If his ideas are open to any immediate criticism, it is that perhaps they are unnecessary, provided the administrative concession on entry is made watertight: for then any Gibraltar belonger could be certain of being allowed to settle in Britain, and would be able in due course to qualify for naturalisation under Section 4(1). I will nevertheless forward them to you as soon as I receive them.
9 To sum up, if it were not for the complication of our relations with Spain I would wish to press for Gibraltar's inclusion in Part I of the Bill, because Britain's membership of the European Community has been extended to Gibraltar. This would give Gibraltarians the right to settle in Britain without opening the flood gates to other people. As second best option, I hope we will be able to give Gibraltarians an individual national identity as "Citizens of British Gibraltar", together with an assurance, unconnected with Spanish restrictions, that they will continue to enjoy the right to settle in Britain.
yours
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PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL