See
BRITISH EMBASSY
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R.S. Domingos à Lapa, No.37
1200 Lisbon - Portugal
Telex: 12278
Telephone: 66 11 91
Johnathan Marshall Esq) Hong Kong Department
FCO
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We have a section in
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Your reference
LAST PAPER
Our reference
please copy to NTCDL Mr Hayward) & to Mu Kelly HoDate for info (by post)
I telephones Mr Chilcott on
7 September to thank and ask hime Dear Jonathan, to let us know
if he hears
about anything which would
read across Ň Motor HK, HONG KONG NATIONALITY: MACAU ANGLE
1.
17 August 1993
HUD 340/13
RECEIVER
- 3 SEP 1993
DESK OFFICEE
INDEX
FCO telegram 87 asked us to check with the Portuguese authorities on the workings of their nationality law for Macau residents. I called on Ambassador Fernando Andersen Guimarães, the Head of the Inter-Ministerial Commission on Macau in the MFA to discuss this subject.
2.
Ambassador Guimaraes confirmed our understanding of Portuguese law as set out in paragraph 3 of the telegram,
ie:
- the 1981 Portuguese Nationality Act was a watershed which had ended automatic Portuguese citizenship for Macau residents. From that date, only those children born in Macau of Portuguese citizens would be entitled to Portuguese nationality;
- the way was left open for some Macau residents to acquire Portuguese citizenship through a process of naturalisation. In practice, very few applicants had become Portuguese citizens that way. Ambassador Guimarães thought it "only a handful" since 1981 of which the majority were rich businessman who had contributed to Portuguese national foundations. Although guidelines such as good character, economic independence, etc were used in evaluating the applications, the Portuguese authorities had wide discretion in interpreting the rules and the criteria were applied very strictly.
4. Ambassador Guimarães and his staff were not clear exactly how many Macau residents already had Portuguese passports. They said it was a deliberate policy not to keep lists of Portuguese passport holders in order to protect those people from the Chinese authorities who might regard the holding of a Portuguese passport with suspicion.
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