TNAG-1190-FCO40-1492-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-the-British-nationa-1982 — Page 40

12.

CONFIDENTIAL

Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1A 2AH

Telephone 01-

Muxanh 2014129)

My. Bortor

С

20.1.

43/9

M J Addison Esq

Home Office

Apollo House CROYDON

Your reference

HKK3401

Our reference

Date

17 September 1982

ло

fame. No more na Afya

233

FALKLAND ISLANDS (BRITISH CITIZENSHIP) (NO 2) BILL: LORD BRUCE OF DONNINGTON

Attached to 103

1. In your letter of 17 August to Christopher Howells you enclosed a draft Second Reading speech on the assumption that Ministers would agree that the Government spokesman in the Lords should set out the objections to this Bill, even though it might well be passed. We have deferred commenting until we could obtain the views of our Ministers on the handling of the Bill in Parliament.

2. I am now writing, in Christopher's absence, to say that our Ministers take the view that we should allow the Bill to go through without objection, since whatever attitude the Government takes the Bill is almost certain to get through anyway.

3. Our Ministers feel that in the Hong Kong context our efforts should be devoted to explaining why there is no similarity between the case of the Falklands and that of Hong Kong and therefore why no precedent would be set by Lord Bruce's Bill.

4. Among the arguments we could put forward would be that the status of British citizen which the Bill would accord to the 400 mono-BDTC Falkland Islanders would derive from the fact that they have already been given an assurance by the Home Secretary which virtually confers the right of abode, and this is not the case for other territories (except Gibraltar).

5.

The correspondence between our Departments about the use of 'British national' in Hong Kong BDTC passports has confirmed us in the view that any alleged immigration obligation is nullified by the endorsement that 'The holder is subject to control under the Immigration Act 1971'. British citizenship could only follow fromthe grant of the right of abode as in the case of Gibraltarians and, probably, the Falkland Islanders. We should be able to take our stand on this.

CONFIDENTIAL

16.