TNAG-1190-FCO40-1492-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-the-British-nationa-1982 — Page 101

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7. The Attorney General then argued that all categories of our citizen are British nationals in international law and that as passports operate internationally the national status (ie British national) could be included in a passport in addition to citizenship status, Both the FCO and Home Office lawyers conceded that there was no purely legal objectid to saying that such citizens were British nationals for international purposes, although they saw possible legal complications eg because of the varying definitions of UK/British national in treaties and the consequent difficulties over any wording to express that status. Policy and administrative considerations would also need to be taken into account.

8. In view of the Prime Minister's visit to Hong Kong at

the end of September it is necessary for the Government to

decide on a clear policy on the issue. On 24 August the FCO

put Hong Kong's case to the Home Office, supporting it on the

grounds that an important objective of the visit will be to

reassure public opinion in the territory that HMG's commitment

to the territory remains effective. To refuse to describe

BDTCs as British nationals would be taken as a sign that we

were not acting in the spirit of that commitment.

9. The Home Office reply, on which Mr Whitelaw was consulted

on his return from leave, is wholly unreceptive to the points

made by the FCO on Hong Kong's behalf (a copy of the Home

Office's letter is attached) and fails event to metion the

legal view. From a nationality and immigration point of

view, the FCO would dissent from the Home Office arguments

only in their assumption that no-one would want both the

terms 'British citizen' and 'British national' appearing in

their passports. We have no evidence that this would be

unpopular, and the Hong Kong authorities at least would see

great advantage in having both 'British Dependent Territories

citizen' and 'British national'. Otherwise strictly from a

nationality and immigration point of view, the Home Office

points, which repeat their earlier arguments on this subject,

are considered by NTD to have some weight, although they do

perhaps overplay the risks involved in meeting Hong Kong's

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request.

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