CONFIDENTIAL
(b)
(c)
(a)
I think Mr Kuo is wrong and that, if an immigration officer takes the new rule literally, a returning resident will need to satisfy the officer that he wishes to establish (or continue) ordinary residence in this country;
what constitutes ordinary residence is, as FCO telno 934 makes plain, a matter of fact and the various factors set out in that telegram cover a reasonable range of the factors which are taken into account. That telegram does not include the passages quoted by Mr Kuo from Shah, and one can imagine adding further elements of the kind mentioned by Lord Scarman to a more comprehensive account. But as a brief summary I do not think we need be too concerned about the breadth of FCO telno 934;
I think I have answered this question in the opening paragraphs of this minute. There was an ambiguity in the rules and if the passage quoted from Macdonald's book accurately represents the pre-May practice, the new rule heralds a new and potentially more stringent practice.
of
Paul Fifoot
Legal Advisers
20 June 1990
2PFAAY
CONFIDENTIAL