CONFIDENTIAL
55657
Com
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4.
BUT
WE HAVE BEEN CONSIDERING WITH THE HOME OFFICE HOW WE CAN
DISCREETLY PROTECT THE 'C' SERIES PASSPORTS DURING THE SHORT TIME
THEY WILL BE ISSUED IN HONG KONG. WE HAVE CONCLUDED THE BEST WAY
TO DO THIS IS TO PRE-STAMP THE BN(0) STATUS IN THE PASSPORTS IN
QUESTION USING A SECURE INK. STAMPING WOULD TAKE PLACE IN
LONDON, BEFORE DESPATCH TO YOU. THIS IS A RELATIVELY CHEAP AND
EFFECTIVE METHOD OF PROTECTING THE BN(0) 'C' SERIES PASSPORTS
THAT WILL BE ISSUED IN HONG KONG. IT WILL OBVIOUSLY NOT BE
POSSIBLE FOR ALL OVERSEAS POSTS WHICH MAY ALSO ISSUE 'C' SERIES
PASSPORTS TO BN(O)S TO BE RE-STOCKED WITH SUCH SECURE INKS.
WE CONSIDER THAT, FROM THE SECURITY POINT OF VIEW, IT IS
ACCEPTABLE FOR A MAJORITY OF BN(0) PASSPORTS TO HAVE THE
SECURE-INK FEATURE. THERE WOULD OF COURSE BE NO QUESTION OF A
LEGITIMATE BN(0) PASSPORT HOLDER BEING REFUSED ADMISSION TO THE
UK SIMPLY BECAUSE THE STAMP IN HIS PASSPORT DID NOT SHOW THE
CORRECT LIGHT REACTIVE QUALITIES. HMSO'S CURRENT ESTIMATE FOR
THE COST OF THE OPERATION (WHICH, AS YOU WILL BE MEETING THE COST
OF ISSUING THE PASSPORTS AND RETAINING THE FEES, WILL BE FOR YOU
TO MEET) IS BETWEEN 1P AND 2P PER PASSPORT.
5.
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IF
THERE IS THEN THE QUESTION OF THE TWO ENDORSEMENTS (RIGHT
OF ABODE AND VISA/EC). AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ALREADY AGREED
BETWEEN US THAT THE RIGHT OF ABODE ENDORSEMENT SHOULD BE STAMPED
AND NOT PRINTED (A POINT WHICH THE CHINESE INSISTED ON). IT HAS
OCCURRED TO US THAT TO PRE-PRINT THE VISA/EC ENDORSEMENT MIGHT
CAST UNFAVOURABLE LIGHT ON THE STAMPED RIGHT OF ABODE
ENDORSEMENT. WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR VIEWS ON THIS.
YOU THINK IT WOULD BE PREFERABLE FOR BOTH ENDORSEMENTS TO BE
STAMPED, WE WOULD SUGGEST THE MOST SENSIBLE ARRANGEMENT WOULD BE
FOR TO YOU STAMP BOTH WHEN ISSUING THE PASSPORTS. (STAMPING OF
THE RIGHT OF ABODE ENDORSEMENT WILL IN ANY CASE HAVE TO BE DONE
BY YOU, AS ONLY YOU WILL KNOW THE RELEVANT ID CARD NUMBER.)
AS YOU WILL RECALL, WE UNDERTOOK TO SUGGEST A SUITABLE
MACHINE READABLE CODE FOR THE NEW BN(0) STATUS. AT PRESENT THE
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CONFIDENTIAL