TNAG-1085-FCO40-1335-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-the-British-nationa-1981 — Page 194

Reference.....

334

Separate copies to:

MrClift, HKGD

Mr Payne, MCD

Mr Daunt, SED

Mr Deare, WIAD

Miss Brooks, Legal Advisers

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Mr Adams

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CODE 18.77

BRITISH NATIONALITY BILL

1.

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dr 1081

2101

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335

767

The Opposition, possibly supported by Lord Geddes and others will certainly revert at the Report Stage in the Lords to the question of nomenclature of CBDT in passports. Consequently it would be necessary for Ministers to have a stronger argument in favour of maintaining that the nationality description should be 'Citizen of the British Dependent Territories' followed by the name of the dependency if they are to maintain the stance they took in the Commons and in the Lords at Report. NTD would of course draft on this.

2.

The dependencies wish to retain and be seen to retain their 'Britishness' and in this they received much support in the Lords during Committee Stage. This is brought out by the debate on amendment no 119ZA moved by Lord Elwyn-Jones (Official Report 22 July 1981 cols 331-338) and by Lord Mishcon who, in connection with an amendment which would, if adopted, have given British citizenship to the Falkland Islanders, said ' ... it is our view that loyal people everywhere, whatever be their colour and whatever be their ancestry, who want to be part of our family should, indeed, be part of our family

It will be very difficult for the

Government to maintain their present stand on nomenclature and the best course might therefore be for Ministers to concede that there is merit in the argument that the dependencies' 'Britishness' be recognised and to move an amendment to the Bill which would permit the nationality description appearing inside the passport to be shown as 'British (name of dependent territory) citizen' if an individual dependent territory so wished. The name of the territory need not necessarily be in brackets. Such a description would logically follow the sequence 'British citizen', 'British Overseas citizen'.

3. In 1979 in preparation for the drafting of the White Paper consideration was given to the suggestions put forward by Governors' for the title of the dependencies' citizenship. Two such titles suggested by Hong Kong were 'British citizen (Hong Kong)'and 'British (Hong Kong) citizen'. These were discarded by the Home Office who argued that they might suggest that each of our colonies had a separate citizenship, they would identify too closely with that which was being reserved for people connected with the UK and they might cause confusion among immigration officials in third countries. But the last two arguments apply equally to British Overseas citizenship and if the Act were to say

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