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wish to apply to become British nationals (Overseas), and thus to obtain passports recording this new status, will have a legal right to apply for registration. I assume that there is nothing to prevent our making an Order in Council at the end of 1985, the provisions of which did not come into force until 1987 or later, but that we could not make an Order in Council without a commencement date.
I suggest, if you agree, that it might be useful to have a meeting about passport matters once we have Hong Kong's response to the letter of 11 January. We could at the same time deal with any outstanding policy issues on the nationality side.
I am copying this letter to Derek Partridge (NTD), and within the Home Office to John Pakenham-Walsh, Tony Holmes and Julian Moore.
You
Wilfed Hyde
W N HYDE
P.S. I had dictated this before seeing telegram 337 from
Hong Kong. I do not think that, on first reading, that telegram alters the sense of this letter but it does, I suggest, strengthen the case for us to arrange an early meeting.
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