ODE 18-77
VO Ltd. 7/84
Mr Kaye
Mr Marcelin
COVERING CONFIDENTIAL
HKK 340/1
RECEIVED BY REGISTRY
Reference....
(c)
15 to HK Legal Advises from into.
砟
- 2 DEC 1986
ESICER
...'on Taken
RY
cc: Mr Hill, HKD
Mr Le Breton
BN(O) STATUS:
Amell
DRAFT REGULATIONS AND PASSPORT ISSUES
1. The two sets of draft regulations enclosed with Mr Emery's letter of 16 October to Mr Leeks, HKD, seem all right to me. As Mr Emery has said, much of the wording is taken directly from the 1982 Regulations.
2.
On the question of passport issues, while accepting that Lieutenant-Governors in the Islands and Governors in the Dependent Territories should be included in the list of "appropriate authorities" to whom applications for BN (0) status can be made, I do not see that it is necessary "presentationally" for them to physically issue the passports. Except for emergency cases, passport applications made in the Dependent Territories by British citizens, British Overseas citizens and British subjects (and in some cases also by BDTCS from other dependent territories) are all passed to London for processing under the "bag scheme" and it seems reasonable that applications from BNOS should be treated in the same way. Far from their objecting to not being issued a passport within the Dependent Territory by the Governor, acting as agent for the Secretary of State, I would have expected that BN(0)s would much prefer having a London-issued passport anyway.
3.
Many applications for passports showing the new BN (0) status will be subject to some delay anyway since details of the Hong Kong identity card number to be inserted in the stamped endorsement will first have to be obtained from Hong Kong. The fact that passport applications are passed to London for issue will not therefore cause additional undue delay.
4. Therefore, while it would be physically possible to supply the other dependent territories and the Islands with small stocks of UK passports and authorise the Governors and Lieutenant-Governors to act as agents for the Secretary of State for the issue of these to BN(O)s, in the same way as the Governor of Hong Kong will be so authorised, I do not think that it is necessary or even advisable to set up this procedure. It would result in an anomalous situation whereby Governors could issue passports in the name of the Secretary of State to BN(0)s, while they did not issue them to British citizens and other categories of British nationals.
5.
I have discussed this question with Mr Emery on the telephone. It seems the idea has not originated from him and he will be interested to receive our views in due course.
6. I should be grateful for any additional views or comments you may have.
22 October 1986
Weal
Y Veale (Miss)
Nationality & Treaty Department
213-5159
CL501
COVERING CONFIDENTIAL