CONFIDENTIAL
ROUTINE
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which BN (0)
3.
a)
b)
status comes into effect and the date on which we had
hoped to begin the process of issuing Common Format Passports.
On the specific points raised in para 3 of your TUR: the number of BN (0) passports to be issued in the first
year in Hong Kong does not affect whether or not we
should issue the new CFP from that date. We are however
interested in your estimate that there will probably be
no more than a few thousand applications for BN (0)
passports in the first year. Given the intense interest
in BN (0) status we would be grateful to know how you
arrive at such a low figure. Would such a low take-up
rate be seen as a failure for the BN (0) passport?
Holders of BN (0) passports will not have to switch to
passports in the new format at a later date (see para 4
below). As virtually all other BCs, BDTCs and BOCs will
not be receiving the new format passport until 1988, it
is difficult to believe that the fact that BN (0)s will
also have to wait will cause much surprise in Hong Kong.
there appears to be some confusion. The Home Office have
recently decided that there will only be one new format
passport: this will be CFP which will be machine- readable and computer issued. A non-machine-readable
format is not therefore an option. We assume that you
will also be introducing a computer issued CFP/MRP in
1988. We have of course told the Chinese during the
discussion of the right of abode endorsement in the JLG that we would be issuing computer-issued passports from 1988. We would be grateful for confirmation of this.
Nor can we accept your argument for free passport replacement. A BDTC will not be charged twice for the transfer to the new BN (0) passports. The new BN (0) passport issued in 1987 will not be "an interim passport". It will be the standard British passport issued in the United Kingdom and by Consular
c)
4.
3
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