qualified professional people to leave Hong Kong there is certainly no bar
those who wish to
work permit this country seeking a
come
and,
if
In 1988,
the
successful,
achieving settled status after 4 years here. Department of Employment permitted 147 BDTCs from Hong Kong to come here for long-term employment and 9 to come for short-term employment. The figures for Chinese nationals from Hong Kong were 33 and 2 respectively.
Settlement
person of
12. A person who has been admitted to the UK as a businessman, independent means or work permit holder may apply for the removal of any time-limit on his stay in the UK indefinite leave to remain or settlement
after he has been here for 4 years.
Wives and children may also apply.
The effect of this is that, thereafter, he and his family would be free to
leave and enter the UK as often as and for as long as they wished,
they were not away for longer than 2 years at a time. In recent years the figures for Hong Kong BDTCS achieving settlement were in 1986, 860; in 1987,
920; and in 1988, 1,150.
provided
Circumstances in which the Home Secretary acts outside the Rules as
settlement
to
13. The Immigration Rules are a statement which the Home Secretary makes under the Immigration Act 1971 as to the practice to be followed in the administration of that Act. But in exercising the power which he has under
the Act to grant leave to remain in the United Kingdom, the Home Secretary has discretion to grant further, or indefinite, leave to people who do not
meet all the requirements of the Rules. An example of a case which may be considered suitable for the exercise of discretion in this way may be that of a person admitted to the United Kingdom as a businessman under paragraphs 35
to 37 of the Rules (HC 169) but who has retained substantial
business
interests in other countries and who may therefore have difficulty in meeting the requirement in paragraph 133 of HC 169 to remain here for a period of
In such a case 4 years in order to qualify for indefinite leave to remain.
the Home Secretary may exercise his discretion, for example with regard to how much of the 4-year period the businessman has to spend in this country. In deciding whether to exercise discretion, the Home Secretary would take
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