мио 34313
78
RECEIVES
PEČICTRV
18 AUG 1993
FICEE
ISTR
VISAS FOR EC COUNTRIES
1.
! Tak
At present, of the 12 EC countries 9 are signatories to the Schengen Convention. These 9 countries are Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and
Greece. Of these 9 countries, three (ie Portugal, France and
Germany) presently require visas for BN (0) and HKBDTC passport
holders. The remaining 6 do not have such requirement, but
Spain intends to introduce a visa regime for Hong Kong from
1 October 1993.
2. We understand that the Schengen Convention will form a
"common travel area" within the member states, which will
dispense with checks at internal borders. If a person is
allowed to enter one of the member states (with or without a
visa), he is expected to be free to travel to other member
states without having to undergo immigration examination. It is
expected also that the Schengen countries will harmonise their
visa requirements and will operate a visa list common to all
member states.
3.
The Convention is expected to enter into force on 1 December
1993. A Ministerial meeting to be held in October will consider
whether a number of compensating measures are in place which will permit entry into force to occur on 1 December.
4. This move is certainly not directed only against Hong Kong, let alone being connected with the recent BN (0) passport phased programme or the UK's agreement for holding of both BN (0) and
HKBDTC passports at the same time. We understand that it would
also affect many of the non-European countries.
5.
non
Of the three Schengen countries Denmark requires visas for
パ
BDTCS and BN (0)s from Hong Kong; UK and Ireland do not.
visa.ec.NAT
SLM