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Rendering consular assistance to BCS, BDTCS, BN (0)S, BOCS, BSS and BPPS.
HKID estimate that there will be some 3.4 million BDTCS by 1997, all of whom will be eligible for BN (0) status. At present there are 1.98 million BDTC and 0.3 million BN (0) passport holders.
(b)
Immigration Work
Handling entry applications to the UK and other commonwealth countries.
The category of BDTC will cease to exist in 1997. The future Consulate General will of course be responsible for giving consular assistance to former BDTCs who took advantage before 1997 of their eligibility to transfer to BNO status. Other categories eligible for consular assistance will include those BDTCS (probably less than 5,000) as well as their children and their grandchildren who - although they did not register for transfer to BNO status are to receive BOC status automatically post 1997 under the provisions of the 1985 Hong Kong Act and the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order of 1986.
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A further responsibility of HKID is that of processing applications under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990 (BNHKA). The scheme is to provide British citizenship for 50,000 key personnel and for their families. The processing of applications for the first tranche (on present estimates 39,418 applications out of over 66,000 submitted should be successful) should be completed by the end of 1993. Application under the second tranche for the remaining places is scheduled to open in early 1994.
6. Operationally, it would be possible to transfer to the BTC the nationality/consular functions for all groups apart from BDTCS and BN (0)s (no more than about 10,000 passport and about 40 consular cases per year). This was already considered in 1988. The conclusion then was that such a move would create ill feeling amongst the Hong Kong public, fuel arguments that this was a step by the UK to withdraw from her responsibilities over BDTCS and BN (0)s well before 1997 and in fact make them second class citizens. We agreed in May 1991 with the Hong Kong Government that these reasons were still valid. We also agreed that HKID's pivotal role in the BNHKA Selection Scheme was a further strong reason to delay the transfer until administration of the nationality scheme is completed. We concluded that HKID should retain, until relatively close to 1997, responsibility for all passport work and for all "consular"/protection work. (BDTC and BN (0) registration will cease in 1997, though passport renewal for BN (O)s will continue). We would envisage a run-in period of about a year during which time British and locally engaged staff might work alongside or in tandem with the HKID. The
brief.consgen.BTC
JEB
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