CONFIDENTIAL:
!
FROM: D W PARTRIDGE, NTD
DATE: 26 MARCH 1985
Has
y...
Mr Fairweather, EDC(I)
HKK 040/41
Copies to:
し
Mr Barrington Mr Cambridge, MVD Mr Atkinson, Consu
Department
Mr Galsworthy, HKD Mr Sanderson, WIAD
COMMON FORMAT
ABOLITION OF FRONTIER CONTROLS WITHIN THE EEC: STYLE PASSPORT FOR BRITISH NATIONALS WITHOUT EC RIGHTS
1.
(CFP)
The Secretary of State commented on your submission of 4 March that we should now begin to give serious consideration to t type of passport which should be issued to British nationals without EC rights when the European Common Format Passport comes into use from 1987 onwards. Earlier correspondence between us rests with my minute of 17 September 1984 but it may be helpful if I review the position we have reached on the so called CFP look- alike, and invite comments as well from other interested departments.
2.
We are permitted by the terms of Annex II of the EC Resolution of 23 June 1981 to issue passports in the common format to persons who are not EC nationals. The Annex states inter alia:
'(A) The uniform passport will be available to nationals of the Member States of the European Communities; (B) Member States may decide to issue passports of this type to other persons.' This was qualified by a statement made by representatives of the governments of the Member States meeting within the Council and recorded as follows: 'The provisions in Annex 2(B) refer in particular to certain categories of British nationals ....
It is thus open
to us to issue the Common Format Passport (ie with identical cover including the words 'European Community') to all British nationals and not only those defined as United Kingdom nationals for Europear Community purposes. It is however not our intention to avail ourselves fully of this option, but to issue the Common Format Passport only to persons defined as UK nationals for EC purposes a to Channel Islanders and those from the Isle of Man (see paragraph 3 below). UK nationals for EC purposes are British citizens, (wit) certain exceptions noted below in paragraph 3), British subjects with the right of abode in the United Kingdom, and British Dependent Territories citizens who derive their citizenship from a connection with Gibraltar.
Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
3. Although not all British citizens who have that status through a connection with the Channel Islands or the
Isle of Man
CONFIDENTIAL
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