TNAG-1405-FCO40-1880-Future-of-Hong-Kong-passports-and-visas-1985 — Page 92

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para 2 of the enclosed copy of the circular of 11 October 1982 to Heads of Mission in London, and the copy of Howells letter of 8 October 1982 to Permanent

Secretaries).

(d) how BN (0) status will be reflected in the issue of passports.

(e) We would expect overseas governments to give BN (0) passport holders the same rights of acces S to their country as they give to BDTC passport holders.

Under these broad headings, we would naturally need to include specific key points, eg under (d) above, we would explain, inter alia, that BN (0) passports will clearly reflect their holders' right of abode in Hong Kong and in the Hong Kong SAR after 30 June 1997.

4.

I should be grateful for your views on these preliminary ideas. If you are happy with our general approach, we can discuss it, and questions of timing, with the Home Office. Our proposals as sume that we can reach agreement with the Chinese on a right of abode endorsement which can be used in BN (0) passports before

after 1997.

and

5. On timing, Ministers have said in Parliament that the time to approach overseas governments would be between the passing of the nationality Order in Council and the issuing of the first BN (0) passports. Within this time scale we will want to give overseas governments enough time in which to inform all their immigration posts about the new status but not enough time for such posts to have forgotten about the change before they see their first BN (0) passports. If necessary the latter purpose could be achieved by a suitable reminder.

6.

There is the important, related question of Visa Abolition Agreements (VAAs). As you may know, most of our VAA's were concluded before UK immigration controls were imposed upon certain categories of British passport holders and we did not renegotiate them after the 1981 BNA. Instead, as described above we issued notes to other governments informing them of the changes. On the same basis, we would not seek to renegotiate VAAS to include BN (0)s, but simply

but simply inform other governments by means of the notes described in paragraph 2 above of the creation of a new status.

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