AKK 040/53
RECEIVE
CVN
19 DEC 1984
IND
Private Secretary
ivate/Secre
PA
Mr Galsworthy,
HONG KONG BILL
MKD
Agreed
Pa
IDENTIAL
15/12.
Ma
162
Secack of Stake.
FROM: A C GALSWORTHY, HKD
GALSWORTHY,
DATE: 14 December 1984
cc: PS/Mr Luce
Sir P Cradock
Sir J Freeland
Dr Wilson
Mr Burrows, Legal Advisers
A
1.
дам
ackett) Hiz
In your minute of 5 December you recorded the Secretary of
State's comments on para 2 (2) of the Schedule to the draft Hong
Kong Bill. The Secretary of State commented that we might face
parliamentary pressure to amend paragraph 2 (2) to state
specifically that the new form of citizenship should not carry with
it any suggestion of a right of entry to or abode in the UK. He
also commented that there could be pressure the other way.
2. We have consulted the Home Office and the Department's Legal
Counsellor. The Home Office have a rooted objection to introducing
immigration provisions (eg right of abode) into nationality
legislation. At present they are handled in separate legislation:
the British Nationality Act 1981, and the Immigration Act 1971 as
amended. They would strongly oppose the addition of a reference to
right of abode in the Schedule for this reason.
•HKK 040/53 (59)
3.
The Bill has now been further amended, and it would now be
impossible to use the powers set out in the latest draft so as to
confer a right of abode in the UK on anybody. The only way such a
right of abode could have been conferred would have been by
conferring full British citizenship (the only form of citizenship
that carries such a right of abode) on ex-BDTs after 1997. This
would now be impossible because the powers refer to "such new form
of nationality". I think in practice that it will be abundantly
clear that we are not going to grant any right of abode in the UK. It may be necessary to repeat during the parliamentary debate on the bill, the assurance which Ministers have already given to this
CONFIDENTIAL
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.