TNAG-0559-FCO40-654-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-othe-1975 — Page 266

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British High Commission

PO Box 1812 Wellington New Zealand

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY No. 50

- 2 SEP1975

NICKI 8/21

Telex NZ 3325 Telegraphic address UKREP Telephone 16.060.

CDS Drace-Francis Esq

Acting Political Adviser HONG KONG

Your reference

Our reference 10/17

Date 25 August 1975”

CATE

OCH

علينا

280

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

1.

246

We were interested to see from your letter SCR 1/4821/75 of 22 July to O'Keefe in HKIOD that the New Zealand Commissioner in Hong Kong had urged his Government to be more accommodating over accepting Vietnamese refugees in New Zealand.

2. Last week we were talking to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this subject. 99 Vietnamese refugees have so far arrived in New Zealand in addition to the 22 staff members of the Vietnamese Embassy. The MFA told us that the 99 came from the quota of 50 families approved by the Government. The selection process to admit them for settlement in New Zealand has now been completed. 18 cases which have been approved have,

280/€ however, yet to arrive.

Release dated 21 August.

I am enclosing a copy of a Press

As you can see a team from the

Immigration Division of the Department of Labour has been trying to track down the location of these families. They have not been uniformly successful in doing so.

3.

The MFA explained that the New Zealand criteria, for admitting Vietnamese refugees are stringent. The most important qualification is an established link here such as a spouse, children or a fiancé. It is most unlikely that, the New Zealanders will relax this condition. We were told that there are no plans to accept further refugees at this stage although the Government has not entirely precluded the possibility of doing so in the future.

The

4. One factor behind this somewhat ungenerous policy is the reliance of the authorities here on the Inter-Church Committee on Immigration, for the re-settlement of refugees. The Committee handies other refugees, for instance, from Chile. Government are reluctant to become directly involved in the mechanics of re-settlement and the number of people which the Committee can handle is limited. The prospects then for a favourable New Zealand response to requests to take more refugees do not seem bright.

RD Lavers

/cc:-

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