DRAFT
SECRET
DSR 11C
A
<<
for considerati
C
C
NEW NATIONALITY LEGISLATION: POSITION OF LOCALLY-ENGAGED CIVIL SERVANTS AND UNOFFICIALS IN HONG KONG
1. Senior locally-engaged llong Kong Civil Servants and Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils wish the Nationality Bill to be amended to provide for their naturalisation to British citizenship. They want this
provision so that those whose public service to the Crown will make them particularly exposed in the event of a Chinese take-over of Hong Kong, will have a haven. They have the
Governor's strong support in this.
2.
Fossible solutions to this problem range from amendments
to the Bill, to some form of assurance by HMG that these
people would be allowed to enter the United Kingdom in an
emergency.
3.
Amendments to the Bill
(a) The preferred Hong Kong solution is to remove "under the
government of the United Kingdom" from Schedule 1
Clause 1(3) of the Bill. This would mean that all Crown
Servants in dependent territories who met the other
requirements of Clauses 1(1) and (2) would be eligible
for naturalisation as British citizens under the Bill.
fart deformthes
pennt
This solution would be difficult to accept since it would
be indiscriminatory and, in the case of Hong Kong, would
up to 130, ovo
& Police apply to tenfs of thousands of Civil Servants, and would
enable them to apply for such registration at any time
after the enactment of the Bill. It would also not on
Livek
its own give them the right of entry into the UK.. Nor
would it also cover Unofficials.
(b) The second option would be to add a further subsection to
Schedule 1, giving the Home Secretary the discretion to
waive the--
by Jrespect
people
s for naturalisation in respect of
SECRET
/those
89280 Dd 532113 200M 2/79 SIS