06 MAR '92 13:28 PRIVATE OFFICE QAG 071 273 3596
HIRTSTER
OF STALL
P.2/4
HOME OFFICE
QUEEN ANNE'S GATE
LONDON SWIH 9AT
HKD 340/6
February 1992
Dear M. Walsh,
ZB
I was glad to have the opportunity of meeting you in Hong Kong at the Conservatives Abroad Cocktail Party, which I much enjoyed.
I have now been able to look into the position regarding the naturalisation requirements for the spouses of British citizens living in Hong Kong which you raised with me and I am grateful to you for explaining your concerns in your letter of 8 January.
Your letter of 11 November to Lord Caithness, a copy of which you kindly enclosed, I regret cannot be traced and Lord Caithness's office cannot find any record of having received it. I am afraid that this is the reason why it went unanswered. I do apologise. The subject matter is, however, the responsibility of the Home Office.
The position is that the spouse of a British citizen has an avenue to British citizenship through naturalisation under section 6(2) of the British nationality Act 1981.
Paragraph 4(d) of Schedule 1 to the Act allows the Home Secretary to dispense with the normal requirement to have completed a period of three years' residence in the United Kingdom where the person concerned is married to a British citizen who, on the date of application, is serving outside the United Kingdom in Crown Service or in a designated service, having been recruited for that service in the United Kingdom.
JP Walsh Esq
Block F
8th Floor
Robinson Garden Apartments
3-3G Robinson Road
HONG KONG
/The Home Secretary...