DSR 11c
calls for. the passport as an international travel document in October
last year during the debate on the Nationality Bill Lord
Geddes moved an amendment that 'Every person who under this
Act is a British Citizen, a citizen of the British dependent
territories or a British Overseas Citizen shall have the
status of a British national'. He was not at the time aware
of citizen categories/he mentioned
that the three
GA
plus British
Protected Persons and the residual British subjects
and are British nationals for passport/and consular
purposes irrespective of our domestic definition of
citizenship. The Government spokesman, Lord Trefgarne, argued against narrowly defeated this amendment on the grounds that
were
nationality as distinct from/citizenship cannot appropriately
be defined in domestic legislation, and that for the holder's
nationality to be described as British in passports would
blur the distinction in immigration terms between British
citizens and the other categories of citizenship, and would
raise expectations among the less well informed which in the
event could not be realised.
5.
Although Lord Geddes' amendment was defeated it
remains a useful reminder that interest in being described
as a British national is not restricted to Hong Kong. It
would be convenient to be able to confine a revised description
in passports to Hong Kong belongers.
But there are two reasons
why this cannot be done. Other dependencies would demand to
be included in any special arrangement made for Hong Kong
particularly as Gibraltarians already are a favoured category
become one
and the Falkland Islanders will / if Lord Bruce of Donington's
proposed Bill succeeds.
We could not easily explain to the
/remaining