24 MAY 189 23:35 FROM COI TECH RADIO
TRANSCRIPT J: SELECT COMMITTEE RE HONG KONG
24 MAY 1989
-24-
PAGE.085/056
MR. JIM LESTER:
I wanted to ask a question about the coordination of
as we know, by work permits which are issued of course, the Department of Employment and is there coordination
between Departments so that such permits,
for instance,
could be available flexibly to British firms in Hong Kong who wished to retain Hong Kong BDTCs who would otherwise
wish to leave so as to emigrate perhaps to a third
country?
R. TIK RENTON;
As you quite rightly say, Mr. Lester, the question
of the issuance of work permits lies with the Department
of Employment. If a work permit is issued by the
Department of Employment, it almost invariably follows
that the Home Office gives the necessary immigration
permission to follow. If someone's work permit is
cancelled and not renewed, the Home Office would normally
take the necessary steps to see that that person left the
country.
At the moment, the same criteria apply for the issue
of work permits to BDTCs from Hong Kong as to people from
any other non-EEC country and I think the Department of
Employment generally takes the view that any change in
those criteria would risk taking away jobs from the
resident labour force in this country.