By FAY
HKD 340/1.
DIEU ET
Foreign & Commonwealth
Office
11 October 1993
Miss Ingrid Ho Security Branch
Government Secretariat Hong Kong
Dear Ingrid,
London SW1A 2AH
Telephone: 071-
OVERSEAS BN (0) APPLICATIONS
246
Thank you for your letter of 15 September to Debbie Barnes Jones about overseas BN (0) applications in the USA which was passed on to me. I am sorry it has taken me so long to let you have a reply.
After consulting colleagues here about the concurrent holding of BDTC and BN (0) passports the view is that our Embassy in Washington DC did act correctly in cancelling the BDTC passports of applicants for BN (0) passports who
did not express a desire to keep their BDTC passports. This is in line with the procedures being followed by the UK Passort Agency (UKPA).
Instructions on the concurrent holding of BDTC and BN (0) passports are contained in our telegramme number 154 to Abidjan which states in paragraph 2(i)
who has a BDTC
passport which remains valid may retain it...." This indicates that the retention of the BDTC passport is not automatic when applying for a BN (0) passport but that people must actually ask to keep it. We understood that this was also the view of Hong Kong according to the exchange of correspondence which took place last August between Mrs E Chan in HKID and Miss Greengrass in the UKPA.
Were you confused by our earlier telegramme (No 602 to Hong kong of 22 June) where we did use the words " ...will keep his BDTC passport..."?
eue
yourz
John
J Woodrow
ce Mr. Mom's NTCD
(253)