Reference.....

98

Mrs Priest, HKD

HONG KONG BDTC's:

1.

VISAS FOR MEXICO

лок

parpate/via

193

h

fie.

M26

Would you please refer to your minute of 22 July to Mr Miller, MVD about the letter of 28 May from the Immigration Department in Hong Kong.

2. As you say in your paragraph 3, the photocopy of Mrs Lui's passport is poor. The national status description "British Subject Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies" on page 1 of the passport should have been deleted when the new stamp "British British Dependent Citizen Hong Kong" was added by the Consulate-General in New York on 18 March 1985. It is probable that this was in fact done but that the deletion lines do not show up on the photocopy.

3.

I attach a copy of our Circular '0' 198/83 of 24 October 1983 which contained the instructions to posts about amending the immigration endorsement on the passports of BDTCs. On the point raised in your paragraph 5(i) the answer is that our overseas posts were not instructed to seek out BDTCs in order to inform them of the possibility of having the immigration endorsement in their passport amended. In most countries, where registers of British nationals living in the district are not maintained, posts would have had no way of identifying persons who might be affected. It was envisaged that the amendment would be made when a passport was presented to a post in some other connection, or if BDTCs got to learn of the change of policy and specifically applied for the amendment.

4. If any Hong Kong BDTC whose passport initially had the endorsement 'Holder is subject to control under the Immigration Act of 1971' objected to this endorsement still being legible, although deleted, when the new 'Holder has the right of abode in Hong Kong' one was added, the only way around this would be the issue of a completely new passport.

CODE 18-77

AWO Ltd.

7/84

+0/20

HKK

040

RECE

26 JUL 1985

IN

25 July 1985

cc:

Mr Miller, MVD Mr Thompson, MCAD Mr Cole, WIAD Miss Archer, WIAD

ISTRY

Action Taken

Y JVeale (Miss)

Nationality & Treaty Department

(CL501 213 5159)

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