Ref: GP/84 1/6/7
Ir. Parfell.
NJ Barrington Esq CMG, CVO Foreign & Commonwealth Office Old Admiralty Building Room G/107
SW1A 2AF
Dear Nicholas
Hong Kong Ogrl
HOME OFFICE
QUEEN ANNE'S GATE
LONDON SWIH 9AT
24 September 1985
NZD
Avia plese, we shore
İnkunòsion, cicosed with the bih iplemis irzelítenistes.
просто
Ir/Ps for Rention prev <you
PASSPORT FORMAT
PS/PUS
Chup Cleck
1
Comic For
MVD/
Ay Renwick
Ecbrc
A wilm
H. Kay Days.
As you may know, we aim to publish in mid October a White Paper covering the draft Order in Council which gives effect to the nationality provisions of the Hong Kong Act 1985. The White Paper has been prepared in close consultation with your colleagues in Hong Kong Department and I need not trouble you with it. They, and the Hong Kong Government, have,however, said that at the time of publication it is important that information should be available in Hong Kong describing the essence of the proposed arrangements for the issue of passports to those obtaining the new status of British National (Overseas), and in particular describing the format of the passport.
We accept this is a reasonable requirement, but it does mean that we have to take, and announce, a decision on the future format of the British passport which, after we have introduced the European common format passport, will then be issued not only to BN(0)s but to other British nationals who are not UK nationals for EC purposes. The proposal, which, as I understand it, has now been agreed with the various interested departments in FCO, is that the future British passport issued to these British nationals should have the same format and be the same colour as the common EC passport, the only difference being the removal of the words "European Community" from the cover and the languages of the various Member States from the inside pages of the document. are now minded to put this recommendation to the Home Secretary who has the general responsibility for passport policy matters, but before doing so I should be glad of your confirmation that FCO endorses the recommendation and that, assuming you think it is necessary, that you have secured the approval of your Ministers to
it.
We
I enclose a draft note which has been prepared to serve as the basis of our submission to Home Office Ministers on this and other passport issues arising from the creation of BN (0) status. (The occasional references in the draft to the "main brief" reflect an earlier intention to submit the note at the same time as a sub- mission on the Hong Kong White Paper.) If you have any points you want to raise, or comments to make (perhaps on the question of
/costs