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14 SEP 1993
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NATIONALITY ISSUES HONG KONG
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Rosenal to Mr Maxten
2 Mr Marily
Thank you for your letter of 29 July on behalf of members of the Legislative Council. I have taken careful note of their views.
Wives and widows
Ms B-J
I am afraid that I have no power to grant the wives and widows British citizenship without their fulfilling the United Kingdom residence requirements set out in the British Nationality Act 1981. The only people who do not have to meet the requirements of this Act are those for whom special provision was made in the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990. Under the 1981 Act there are two absolutely unavoidable requirements which these ladies would have to meet. These are physical presence here on a date three (or, if not married to a British citizen, five) years before the date of application; and freedom from immigration time restrictions on the actual date of application. A brief visit to the United Kingdom on the appropriate date would satisfy the first of these requirements and on the assumption that the applicant had been granted settlement on arrival in the UK the second requirement would also be met.
The There are also requirements over which I may exercise some discretion. 1981 Act provides that absences should not exceed 450 days in the five year period (and 270 in the three year period) and 90 days in the final 12 months. I have discretion to waive periods in excess of these "if in the special circumstances of any particular case" I think fit. I am advised that a token period of residence would be insufficient to satisfy these requirements, since it would not be right for me to exercise my discretion to such an extent that it emptied the residence requirement of all meaning. I would also need to exercise the discretion in the light of the individual circumstances of each case and not for a category of applicants.
Even if it were open to me to accept token visits here as meeting the residence requirements, however, it would not meet the wishes of the wives and widows, which is to have British citizenship now rather than in three or five years' time.
What I can say is that, if any of the wives and widows chose to apply for citizenship by this route, I would seek to exercise my discretion as generously as possible. But this would mean a substantial period of residence in the UK
Mrs Elsie Tu
Chairman
Legislative Council House Committee
Legislative Council Building
1 MMD 340/8
RECE
2 2 SEP 1993
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