B
C
A
requested
31/12
attached.
Bll to fl
вы
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14 Dec
thir Hank's arguments are
the Maten's
bur
7
as he says, or
persuasive
MS BJ? 22/11 HKD 3*
RECE
Ms 8-J.231.
- © DEC 1993
This seems encouragingly level-headed. Do we open
Had
He last few months may
FROM:
DATE:
CC:
Mr Alston hun set to te exceptional?
RY
Mr Moodrow - worth getting anneyl
for our records?
а
20
I wonder whether NTCD got a ver out from tiky on whether the
months last lew
une exceptivval?
I suspect not. Would you pick Mr Kally's breins on his retrom RD Hart, NTCD from HK, and
you
(unles)
would 9 November 1993 Mr Kelly can give
a good enough. M Thorp, RFD icture) commision
Mr Clover, MRS Mr Ricketts, HKD
22/4
thom Ingrid Ho
a brief summary of how HK see
as developing Programme as & whether they think applications will
BRITISH NATIONALS (OVERSEAS) (BN(0)s) PHASED REGISTRATION remain at
PROGRAMME : OVERSEAS STAFFING IMPLICATIONS
such a high level?
DBJ 23/11
1. You and copy recipients should know that this programme Now See is causing staffing difficulties at four of the Machine
Readable Passport (MRP) Posts because of the large number of Miss Ho's applications received. The worst affected is Ottawa (see letter their telno 404). No decisions need, however, to be taken for 201
the time being.
on HD 340/1
2. The Hong Kong (British Nationality) (Amendment) Order 1993 which came into force on 21 July 1993 provided for a phased programme for the registration of British Dependent Territories citizens (BDTC) s as BN (0)s. The timetable for the receipt of applications is in the Second Schedule to Article 4. The implementation of this programme has resulted in an upsurge of applications at a number of our posts overseas, but it is only in Canberra, Ottawa, Washington and Wellington that there may be staffing implications.
3.
In
I attach a summary setting out the position at each of the four Posts based on the information so far available. First-time BN (0) passport applications take two or three times longer to process than straightforward passport applications. There are a number of reasons for this: one of these is that a pre-requisite for the issue of a BN (O) passport is possession of a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card (PIC). many cases first time overseas applicants will not previously have applied for a PIC and will have to complete a form which includes giving a thumb fingerprint impression on it. Other reasons are language difficulties and the need to copy the passport application forms for onward transmission to the Hong Kong Immigration Department (HKID). This means that any increase in BN (0) applications is not only significant in itself but where it forms a high proportion of all applications received, the problem is magnified. Canberra, Washington and Wellington are coping at present but the situation in Ottawa is becoming serious.
Jolis 301
/4