Sir Nicholas Bonsor Bt MP
House of Commons
LONDON
SW1A OAA
Thank you for your letter of 26 July to Douglas Hurd
enclosing one from Mr David Buckley of D2 Fiona Garden,
17 Miles, Castle Peak Road, New Territories, Hong Kong about
immigration and nationality position of the spouses of British citizens resident in Hong Kong.
Spouses of British citizens in Hong Kong already have the assurance that, if the family were to wish to leave the
territory, they would have no difficulty in entering the United Kingdom. Under the Immigration Rules the spouse of a British citizen is entitled to accompany him or her to the
United Kingdom for settlement provided that:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
the primary purpose of the marriage was not to obtain admission to the United Kingdom;
the parties to the marriage have met and intend to
live permanently together; and
the parties can maintain and accommodate themselves
adequately without recourse to public funds.
In practice it is most unlikely that the existing
spouse of an expatriate British citizen who has been working overseas and is returning to the United Kingdom would not
meet these requirements. Last year only 4 out of 269 applications for entry clearance as a spouse or fiance (e)
were refused in Hong Kong; and the four cases which were
TUGAAE/1