DSR 11C
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9.
If any profit from the passports is to be credited to
HMG, equally any loss which might arise would have to be
borne by HMG and not by the Hong Kong government and this
would have implications for the setting of the UK passport
fee, which is a Home Office responsibility. At Treasury
insistence; this fee is set at a level which will produce
sufficient revenue to offset the administrative and other costs
of the passport-issuing operation in the UK and at posts
abroad, as well as the costs of providing non-feebearing
consular services abroad to British nationals. If the Hong
Kong operation is to be taken into the equation it will be
necessary for Hong Kong to provide detailed estimates of
their expected administrative charges. One complicating
factor is that it is at present not known how many of the
BDTCs eligible to apply for BN (0) will chose to do so.
Of those who do, and obtaining a passport is to be an
integral part of the ac quisition of the new status, many
are unlikely to travel abroad, so it is most improbable
that there would be a corresponding rise in the call on
our consular protection services.
10.
We shall be pursuing these questions with Hong Kong
and with Home Office officials and we shall prepare a submissio
to.Ministers about the issue of BN(O) passports in Hong Kong
as soon as possible.
A possible complication so far as consultations with Hong
Kong are concerned is that their Immigration Department already
acts on behalf of HMG in issuing entry clearances for the UK.
In doing so they apply UK consular fees for these services
but I understand that the Hong Kong Government retains the
full amount of such fees and is not required to account for the
costs of providing the service.
11. In view of all these considerations, it hardly seems
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.