Telephone Nos.
REGENT 6050.
WHITEHALL 6789.
1
2
BOX No.
500,
PARLIAMENT STREET B.O.,
LONDON, S.W.1.
(ii) cannot show that he has in his possession or that he is physically
able to earn the means of decently supporting himself and his dependants, if any; or
(iii) is a professional beggar or vagrant or a person likely to become
or
a charge upon the public or upon any public or charitable institution;
(iv) is a person suffering from a contagious disease which is loathsome
or dangerous; or
(v) is not in possession of a valid passport or is in possession of a forged or altered passport or of a passport which does not comply with any regulations in force regarding passports; or
(vi) has been banished from any country or has been shipped from any
country by the authorities of the Government of such country with a view to his being repatriated; or
(vii) is suspected of being likely to promote sedition or to cause a
disturbance of public tranquillity.
(e) Persons holding Certificates of Identity issued by the Immigration
Department in the Colony or the Federation of Malaya are exempt from the necessity of being in possession of a passport. These certificates are of two kinds:-
(i) A Certificate issued to a British Indian who is resident in Malaya and is proceeding to India with the intention of returning to Malaya within 2 years. These certificates are issued on demand by the Immigration Department and are refused only in cases in which the person would fall within the classes of persons given in para- graph 3(a) of this letter. A charge of $.37- is made to cover costs of issue. The object of this certificate is to provide an easily obtained and inexpensive travel document to persons who do not wish to go to the more lengthy, elaborate and expensive procedure of obtaining a passport to ensure ease of return to Malaya.
(ii) The second kind of Certificate of Identity issued is for the use
of persons who are not in Malaya but wish to come to Malaya either permanently or for a limited period. These certificates may be issued upon the application of the employer or other person resident in Malaya. They state that there is no objection to the person entering the Colony. They are valid for six months.
(f) A person is not required to have both a valid passport and a valid
Certificate of Identity, either document is sufficient.
Any passenger embarking in India, who is not in possession of a passport or a Certificate of Identity issued by the Immigration Department of the Colony of Singapore or the Federation of Malaya, will be refused permission to land, The onus of returning them to India will rest with the shipping company concerned.
Previously, intending immigrants obtained their entry permits from the Government of India without any reference being made to the Government of Singapore or the Malayan Union (as it then was). This unsatisfactory situation has now been cleared up.
We have heard nothing further from Hong Kong, but, with information regarding Singapore and the Federation, you may care to proceed further on the lines of paragraph two of my letter of the 24th February, 1948, under the above reference.
Yours sincerely,
5. RB Pantin
R. B. Parkinson.