TNAG-1125-FCO40-1400-British-Nationality-Act-1981-and-the-Dependent-Territories-1982 — Page 192

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221/2/82

H M Paterson Esq

Nationality & Treaty Department

FCO

Pat,

Dear Per,

PASSPORT FORMAT

!

Rr Rai

dowk

BRITISH CONSUL

ONSULATE-GENERAL,

AMSTERDAM.

12 January 1982-

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HIK 343/1

AF 11

IKK

34349

21981

1. We have given further consideration to the important: question of passport format in the light of your letter of 2 November and of the passage of the British Nationality Act 1981.

2. We recognise that whatever decision is taken it will be criticised from one point of view or the other but we continue to believe that now that Parliament has decided to create a new and separate status of British Citizen with unrestricted right of entry into the United Kingdom, it would be appropriate to distinguish holders of this citizenship so as to bring relief to foreign immigration officials who for years have had to examine British passports with care to determine the re-admissibility into the United Kingdom of their holders. We feel that it is less important whether or not separate formats are devised for British Dependant Territories Citizens and British Overseas Citizens but since in practice the leading B.D.T.s (especially Hong Kong) are likely to produce their own formats, it would probably be logical for passports for these two categories to be distinguished by easily recognisable differences in their outward appearance. If this were done we do not think it necessary that all posts should be issued with stocks of passports for all the various B.D.T.s, only to those likely to issue a reasonable number for a particular territory each year. Since we issue about 1,000 passports a year to Hong Kong Chinese it would seem very reasonable for the Hong Kong format to be used here. I do not think that this would

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give rise to difficulty by comparison with other countries where there are fewer Hong Kong Chinese and where such passports as are issued to them were in the British Dependent Territories common format.

3.

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Since the Department is now taking a fresh look at passport issue may we please put in a plea for the introduction of mechanisation at the earliest possible date.

As you know, the methods used for the physical issue of passports have only changed in the last 100 years in one important particular the photograph is now covered by a laminated film bearing a series of crowns. The issue of passports

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/is very