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Hong Kong with host capitals (SC countries who now allow visa free travel from Hong Kong).
5.
(FOR MADRID) Please now follow up your original approach to the Spanish, thanking them for their flexibility to date and deploying the points below to request that the Spanish reconsider their decision to require visas from Hong Kong travellers from October (particularly in the light of your telno 357 - not to all
- which notes that visitors from Africa and Latin America cause Spain problems rather than Hong Kong with only 5,000 a year). By all means try to get hold of the Schengen CVL as you suggest in your TUR
any further information which you or other addressees can glean will be useful.
6. LINE TO TAKE
- Note progress reported following Ministerial Meeting in Madrid on 30 June (on implementation of Schengen arrangements). Interested to know about arrangements for implementation of the Common Visa List.
- We understand why the Schengen countries are aligning their practice. We understand further that, in general, this is likely to represent an aggregation (underlined) of national visa requirements.
- We are concerned, however, that Hong Kong is amongst the countries included on the CVL. This will be a blow to Hong Kong BTDCs and BN (0)s who now enjoy visa-free access to your country.
- These are British (underlined) passport holders. In our view they are a special case. It would be far preferable if in this
the basis for the common case your present arrangements formed Schengen approach - rather than that you should align upon the most restrictive national practice.
Hong Kong travellers have a record of good behaviour and of paying their way. They are of course returnable to Hong Kong where they have right of abode (and will continue to do so after 1997).
Neither has there been any history of illegal immigration from Hong Kong to Europe. Many mainland Chinese travelling to other countries do transit through hong Kong (about 100,000 last year). However Hong Kong have tough and efficient immigration controls
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