TNAG-1405-FCO40-1880-Future-of-Hong-Kong-passports-and-visas-1985 — Page 75

your ref: SCR 8/209/83

our ref: GVV HK/349/1

RP Margolis Esq Deputy Political Adviser Government Secretariat Hong Kong

Dear མད ོ�ན་ཚ་ཛན་པ༔ .

CONFIDENTIAL

HONG KONG PASSPORT HOLDERS:

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

5 June 1985

far-leetsto's

Josee

mite m

поп

10

Mong the Lehen

of 23 Ame psl.

m

Dowdyn

HKK 040/28

RECF:

12 JUN 1985

68

en

ENTS

W

DANISH VISA REQUIREMENTS

1. Your letter of 23 April was shown to me on my return from a recent official tour abroad.

2.

When we deferred action in 1983 it was in the hope that we would have been able to renegotiate certain Visa Abolition Agreements (VAA) within a reasonable timescale. This hope has not been fulfilled. Indeed we are no nearer an agreed form of VAA than we were two years ago. In these circumstances and in view of the considerations set out in your second and third paragraphs, I have asked the Embassy at Copenhagen to make the approach suggested in your fourth paragraph.

However, for obvious reasons the approach, in the first instance, will have to be made on behalf of all the British nationals affected adversely by the current Danish visa requirements. I attach a copy of these requirements (as summarised in a World Tourism Organisation publication) and you will see that a good number of categories are affected not just BDTCS. It is perhaps noteworthy that the Danes went to some trouble to define the categories of exemption. They will doubtless have since issued internal instructions to take account of the BNA 1981.

Of course,

3. I do not think that it would be fair to quote to the Danes what may be the personal opinion of theSwedish Consul-General unless we were absolutely sure that he would not mind. it would be a useful point if the Swedes decided to modify their visa regime which we could use to the full. Nor do I think that the Austrian decision is necessarily helpful since we have confirmed that it does not apply to the totality of BDTCs.

Cc:

HKD

Esq

Secen

Jou.

Alaa

A J Cambridge

Migration and Visa Department

A J T Lovelock, COPENHAGEN

CONFIDENTIAL

Page 75Page 76

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