TNAG-1405-FCO40-1880-Future-of-Hong-Kong-passports-and-visas-1985 — Page 178

CONFIDENTIAL

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persons covered fell on deaf ears and a new arrangement had to be agreed covering only British citizens.

4. On 15 April 1983 the Canadian Government passed an Order in Council which precluded the issue of a visitor's visa to any person whose passport or other travel document did not give the holder the right to enter the country on whose authority the document was issued. The Canadians subsequently refused to grant visit visas to BOCS BPP, and, we assume, to certain British subjects because their passports did not indicate that they had the right of abode in the United Kingdom or in any country under British administration. The matter may be resolved by the issue of a confidential and unpublished guarantee from the UK to Canada to accept BOC visitors to Canada who subsequently prove not to be returnable to any other country. Unless the Canadian Order in Council has meantime been amended, BN(0) passports will also fall foul of it once Hong Kong has ceased to be under British administration.

5. Following the publicity given to the new nationality legislation the Singapore authorities have been refusing to grant re-entry visas to Singapore to British Overseas citizens resident there whose passports are endorsed indicating that they are subject to control under the Immigration Act 1971. This problem has been partly resolved because it appears that the Singapore author- ities are willing to issue Certificates of Identity to such persons and are willing to endorse re-entry permits in these certificates, thus effectively regarding them as stateless.

6. There have been other problems but they have generally been at the individual level and due to a lack of understanding by immigration officers at ports of entry (particularly it seems in the Middle East). It is only the three countries mentioned above that have made real difficulty, but in different ways. The French insisted that BOCS should obtain a visa; the Canadians will not admit BOCs at all; and Singapore regard them as effectively state- less. On the positive side, no other countries have yet made difficulties and the BNA has now been in effect for over two years.

7. It is in order to help BDTCs to benefit from visa abolition agreements that we now place a 'right of abode' endorsement in their passports in regard to the dependent territory with which they have a connection. I think the main essential in securing recognition of

BN(0) passports will be an assurance that the bearer has return-

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ability to a specific territory in this case the Hong Kong SAR China).

2 April 1985

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CONFIDENTIAL

chill

D W Partridge

Nationality & Treaty Department