E.R.
CONMDENTIAL
for the other dependent territories.
20. We will consider your proposal that the scheme should be open to those who are eligible for naturalisation as BDTCS but hold only Certificates or Documents of Identity, perhaps on condition that they apply simultaneously for BDTC and British citizenship. We will also consider the possible inclusion of other British nationals (BOCs, British subjects and British protected persons), thought by you to number about 1,000 in all. We agreed provisionally, subject to legal advice and submission to Ministers, that those with dual nationality should receive significant penalty points but not be disqualified altogether. We noted your view that residence in Hong Kong should not be a requirement or affect points, because of both the difficulty of defining residence and the hope that successful applicants who had established residence elsewhere would be attracted back to Hong Kong.
21. We had reservations about your proposal to award points for each year of employment in the Civil Service but noted your advice that Crown Service should be recognised. You will consider other possible ways of achieving this.
22. We will consider your proposal that over-age children (up to about 25 years) of undertakings holders should be given "gold plated" entry clearance assurances.
23. We had reservations about the low weight you proposed to attach to knowledge of English, in view of the emphasis Ministers had given to this. Adequate spoken English was what mattered, rather than written or academic attainment. We will consider this in the light of current requirements under the BNA.
24. We will consider with legal advisers your proposal that the
while scheme,
from not necessarily precluding both spouses applying, should permit only one primary beneficiary per household.
25. We will consider in the light of UK immigration and nationality precedent, your proposal that children adopted in Hong Kong (of whom you advised us there were relatively few) should be eligible as secondary beneficiaries.
26. We will consider with other Departments whether port checks, National Insurance or other systems could be used to monitor the arrival of beneficiaries coming to live in the UK. We understand you will be able to monitor emigration by beneficiaries but not their destinations.
27.
consider including
on
We will consider
in the Bill provisions renunciation and resumption of British citizenship along the lines of those in the BNA.
Other Conclusions
28. We saw no difficulty in the proposal for a Steering Committee, provided its role was advisory and did not detract from the Governor's ultimate responsibility for deciding who
CONEIDENTIAL.