TNAG-1405-FCO40-1880-Future-of-Hong-Kong-passports-and-visas-1985 — Page 237

R&R pl

Home Office

CONFIDENTIAL

PASSPORT DEPARTMENT

Clive House 70-78 Petty France London SW1H 9HD

Telephone 01-213 6497

RJ F Hoare Esq

Hong Kong Department

GTN 213

HKK 040/28

Foreign & CommonwealtOfTICO) IN REGIS pada

LONDON

SW1A 2AH

14 JAN 1985

04014

00

Business Hours

Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30pm

Your reference

Our reference

GP 84

1/6/3

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possible I

Dan Roques,

HONG KONG

-

22

No

Pho

Date

noted

|| January 1985

hefter

helter to the

br. 2 weeks.

- ACQUISITION OF NEW NATIONALITY STATUS: PASSPORT MATTERS

THE 187

Jerry Emery B4 copied to me your letters of 12 December in which you described UMELCO's views on how passport matters should be handled and with which you forwarded a draft checklist, produced by the Hong Kong Government, of action required of them to implement the Agreement with China. We have since had the opportunity to discuss passport/registration matters generally with Mr S Kuo, Deputy Director of Immigration Hong Kong at a meeting on

4 January attended by Emery and by Kaye from FCO (NTD).

2. It seems to us essential to focus now on some of the crucial decisions which will need to be taken. This letter aims to pose the main questions as we see them. In addition, with the prospect of the Second Reading Debate on the Hong Kong Bill on 21 January, it would be useful to get from Hong Kong, information on and reaction to, some of the issues in time to consider possible Ministerial replies to points that may be raised in debate.

3. The first thing to settle is our general policy on the issue of passports. We would wish to resist any suggestion that people in Hong Kong be issued with two valid passports as a solution to UMELCO concerns about the effects on confidence of issuing a passport without reference to the BDTC status.

This would be contrary to our standard practice (and we believe Hong Kong's) which is to limit more than one issue to much travelled businessmen and those travelling to "incompatible" countries. The temptation to sell or lend the second passport is too great and other countries besides the UK, would be likely to object if BDTCs from Hong Kong could, in effect, choose which of two passports to produce to their immigration officials. We are also reluctant to issue post dated passports, partly for fear that people get themselves into trouble by attempting to travel on documents which are not yet valid.

4.

As we see it, the three options for 1987 onwards are:

a)

Issue BDTC only passports valid for, say five years

This might go some way to meet the concerns expressed by UMELCO members about early introduction of the new status. This is probably the worst option administratively as it compresses all the problems of coping with three million passport applications into the last five years;

CONFIDENTIAL

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