Officers, making it clear that it will not normally be
necessary to make any further enquiries about the plans of a
person seeking readmission as a returning resident within two years of having had settled status in the UK.
However, it would not be right to leave anyone in Hong Kong
with the impression that the Rules are designed to enable
people resident overseas to maintain settled status in the
UK simply by paying short visits to this country once every
two years. This is not the purpose, nor has it ever been
It has never been the case that a person who is neither
settled in the UK, nor intending to settle, can qualify for admission as a returning resident. Far from constituting a "considerable change in policy" as Lydia suggests, the amended Rule simply makes the situation clear.
so.
I am sorry if there are some individuals in Hong Kong who feel that their position is less secure than before as a
result of this amendment. But as I have sought to explain,
in such cases it is not their position, only their
understanding of it, which may have changed. I hope that, in the light of this explanation, the majority of those in
Hong Kong who have indefinite leave to enter or remain in
the UK will conclude, rightly, that they have nothing to
fear from this amendment.
ch
Francis Maude
ما
Page 135Page 136