Treasury Chambers

Parliament Street London SW1P 3AG

Telex 262405

R E Escritt Esq

Finance Department

Whitehall

как

م مقصد ساعته

I'm Mr Manter

Please

copy to M Marelin (NTS)

Telephone Direct Line 01-233

Switchboard 01-233 3000 m Hill (HK))

(156)

Ret

Miss Kaye (Courlar)3) Mr Mc Dougall (Mrs))

Your reference

Our reference

then return to me

Date March 1986

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Old Admiralty Building

London SW1

GNN 340/393/1-E

1986

Dew lickerd Richard

AEGISTRY

3

HONG KONG: ISSUE OF BRITISH NATIONAL (OVERSEAS) PASSPORTS

129

Thank you for your letter of 21 February.

I accept that it would be difficult for HMG to sustain a case for retaining the profit from the issue of BN (0) passports. Although in а strict legalistic sense, one could argue that there is a clear distinction between the Governor acting on his own behalf and acting as an agent of the Secretary of State and therefore it does not follow that the financial benefit the Hong Kong government have become accustomed to should necessarily continue, in practice they will still issue passports and collect the fees (albeit for a different type of passport). It would be hard to justify penalising the Hong Kong government because of the Communist Chinese government's sensitivity over colonialism.

There can, of course, be no question of the UK Government at any time making up the "profit" the Hong Kong government will

forego because

lower fee

be charged under

+

of

have the UK Consular Fees Order.

to

the

Yours Sicuch

ват нев

B NELSON

Page 30Page 31

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