E.R.
on 13 June which would provide for the spouses and widowed spouses of British citizens resident in Hong Kong to be registered as British citizens as of right (Annex D). It would be excellent if
Mr Channon were persuaded to withdraw these amendments. But a more realistic objective for the meeting is to make the debate easier to handle, by explaining and clarifying our position to Mr Channon, as well as to give the Concerned British expatriates a personal hearing.
At Committee stage the Government successfully resisted an
Opposition amendment similar to that tabled by Mr Channon. The
relevant extract from Hansard is attached (Annex E). No new
arguments are now being put forward and in the circumstances it
would be particularly awkward to make the concession Mr Channon is
seeking.
The immigration position
Under the Immigration Rules, the spouse of a British citizen is entitled to accompany him or her to the UK for settlement at any time (either before or after 1997) provided that:
i) that the primary purpose of the marriage was not to obtain admission to the United Kingdom;
ii) that the parties to the marriage have met and intend to live permanently together; and
iii) that the parties can maintain and accommodate themselves
adequately without recourse to public funds.
In practice it is unlikely that spouses in the circumstances which the Concerned British Expatriates have described would have any difficulty in meeting these test and they can be regarded as having a clear right to come here. Entry clearance is generally issued in Hong Kong in a matter of weeks and in an emergency this could be reduced to days. Nor is there any reason to fear that a spouse might have difficulty leaving Hong Kong after 1997, as Mr Walsh suggests, because the Basic Law follows section 14 of the Joint