TNAG-0980-FCO40-1199-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-British-nationality-1980 — Page 260

Adams

Kulis

SECOND GENERATION TRANSMISSION OF CITIZENSHIP BUSINESSMEN, ETC.

HKK 340

340/1

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51

16 JUN 1980

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

deo

PA

ME.E

OR. QUALI MED

REGISTRY

Action Take":

AW 16

1. I promised after this morning's meeting with the LPS to provide details of the calculation leading to the annual estimate of up to 300 children being registered by the Home Secretary under the proposed "relevant employment" provision.

2. A survey made of GRO records indicated that 730 births of second and subsequent generation children are registered annually in our overseas Posts. These have all been entitled to citizenship by virtue of transmission in the male line only. These children are CUKCS by descent. Assuming that under the new law, many of them marry British Citizens by birth, automatic transmission of citizenship to their children will be through the spouse born in the United Kingdom (either the father or the mother) and there will be no need to apply the "relevant employment" provision. Assuming that 30% of them marry spouses who were born in the UK, we can reduce the original figure of 730 down to about 500.

3.

1

Further assuming that only 30% of these British Citizens by descent eventually enter "relevant employment" and they all have children born overseas, the number of those children to be registered annually will be about 150 (30% of 150). We have no way of knowing with any degree of accuracy the percentages of British Citizens by descent who will marry British Citizens by birth and/or will enter " relevant employment

11 but even if our calculation is 100% out, the total number of children to be registered annually should not exceed twice 150, i.e. the 300 we have quoted.

4.

We have used this arithmetical argument with the Home Office. They do not dispute the figures, merely our conclusion that this does not represent an unacceptable immigration commitment.

5.

It is true that transmission of citizenship through the female line under the new law will, in due course, affect the numbers involved but the children born overseas to British mothers after the new law goes into operation and who will not otherwise have a claim to citizenship (e.g. a non-British father) will not be old enough to qualify for " relevant employment" until after the year 2000. Even so, the " relevant employment pool" in years to come will never, in NTD's opinion, constitute a significantly large number to cause anxiety on immigration grounds, particularly when compared with the number of 25,000 or so currently being registered as CUKCS annually by the Home Office.

agra

A V E Gray

Nationality and Treaty Department

9 June 1980

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Clift

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HKGD