ARRANGEMENTS MADE BY OTHER GOVERNMENTS
Some countries have already found ways to give Hong Kong
people the assurance of right of abode without their having
to leave the territory and the British Government have
encouraged others to do so. Such assurances help to promote confidence in Hong Kong by encouraging people to remain in
the territory and to continue to contribute to its success.
Singapore has already introduced a scheme to give permanent
residence status to up to 25,000 blue collar workers and
their families without requiring them to leave Hong Kong for
a number of years. Within the EC, France, the Federal
Republic of Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg are implementing
schemes to provide the right of entry to employees of French, German, Belgian and Luxembourg companies and their
families. A number of other Governments are considering if
they can introduce similar arrangements. The possibility of
new immigration arrangements for Hong Kong is under
consideration by the United States Administration and there
have been expressions of support in the United States
Congress, including a proposal that the immigration quota
from Hong Kong should be increased to 20,000 a year and that
beneficiaries should be allowed to defer settlement in the
United States until the year 2002. Taken together, these measures could add substantially to the impact of the British
Government's nationality scheme.
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