TORONTO OFFICE
Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
Director of Immigration (Mrs Landis Tse) (FAX: 824-1133)
c.c. DIS (Mrs June Tong/CP; Mr George Yuen/AO)
D(T) (Stephen Siu)
August 6, 1993
RE:
MESSAGE:
BN (0) Application
Mrs June Tong of GIS may have already discussed with you the problems we have faced here in dealing with public enquiries about BN (0) application.
We have received some basic
some basic information from GIS, such as the information sheet on BN (0) and BDTC, and the press releases issued by GIS on the phased program. However, when it comes to more specific questions such as the size of photo, the supporting documents the applicants need to present, etc. We just don't have enough information.
I should be grateful if you could fax us some GUIDANCE NOTES on passport application. I understand that the British High Commission or the Immigration Department may have something like that for the applicants. We would also need to have a copy of the application form (FORM A & FORM B), so that questions regarding how to fill in the application can be properly answered.
We have received complaints that it was stated in the BN(0) application form that the applicant has to give up his/her BDTC passport. I am not sure whether the British High Commission is distributing the old or new application forms. Callers were also saying that they were told by people in the British High Commission in Ottawa that they are not allowed to keep both the BN (0) and. BDTC. Maybe you would like to look into cases like that.
Please also refer to the Aug. 6 edition of the Weekly Overseas Media Summary prepared by GIS, which says that:
"In a report from London, Sing Tao Daily said that it had received complants that the British passport office had refused to allow Hong Kong people living in England to keep their BDTC passports when they applied for the BN (0)
BN (0) passports under the phased conversion scheme." Newspapers here have also received complaints that the British Consulate in Toronto was not knowledgeable or not co-operative enough on the whole exercise. These complaints will soon appear in the press if nothing is done.
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