outstanding application in Hong Kong for British Dependent
Territories Citizenship, will be eligible. The arrangements will
lapse on 30 June 1997.
Moreover, as previously announced, the Bill imposes a ceiling of
50,000 on the numbers of households covered by the scheme. In
arriving at that figure the Government has had to make а
difficult judgement. Discussions with Hong Kong since December
have reinforced my view that we have got the figure right: it is
a number which is capable of having a real impact on emigration
and confidence in the territory, while not putting at risk the
overall interests of the United Kingdom.
If the assurances are to be effective in giving beneficiaries the
confidence to remain in Hong Kong, they must extend to the
immediate
Accordingly, the Bill
Bill provides for the
family.
registration of spouses and children under 18.
The total numbers who might acquire citizenship in this way will
of course depend on the sizes of the families of those selected.
My rt hon Friend quoted a figure of 225,000, including the 50,000
heads of households.
This is very much an upper limit, which we
can be confident will not be exceeded.
Mr Speaker, the 50,000 personnel selected for registration under
this Bill would be a carefully chosen and highly qualified group
of people. If, against expectation, they decided to settle in
the UK they would doubtless make a valuable contribution here.