TNAG-1560-FCO40-2124-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-passports-Hong-Kong-(Br-1986 — Page 172

1

[ME2AHA]

CONFIDENTIAL

6/2/11 235)

Serotary of State

Minule to issue

MAY

Dr Wilson

Mini

Bir.

PS/Mr Renton

Private Secretary

FROM: A C Galsworthy

DATE: 5 February 1986

HHH 040/4

cc: Sir W HardRECEIVED IN REGISTRY

1 1FEB 1986

NTD

MVD

INDS

PA

AEGISTRY Action Taken

HONG KONG:

NATIONALITY ORDER IN COUNCIL

227

द

I submit a draft reply from the Secretary of State

Secretary's letter

1.

A

B

183 Secretary

233;

is

to the Home Secretary's letter of 31

31 January. The Home

essentially a holding reply to the

Its of State's minute of 22 January.

tone is

positive (but it does

does not se em to US to be exactly the

blive branch" as No 10 are said to have called it).

We still

•

2.

face considerable difficulties with the

Home Office on the wording of an endorsement to be entered in BN (O) passports. One compromise being considered at

the moment is along the lines

lines of

of "Under the Immigration

Rules 1983 the holder of this passport does not require an

entry certificate ог visa to enter the United Kingdom" This might just be acceptable in Hong Kong: the dropping

of "as a bona fide visitor" from our earlier formula will

help, though the reference to the Immigration Rules will

be unwelcome. The Home Office legal advisers are however

still wavering as to whether any endorsemen t at all would

not commit a future Government and it would be useful to

remind them that we are now effectively committed

to an

endorsement and to finding satisfactory wording for it.

3.

A team of Hong Kong Officials visited London from 3

to 5 February to provide further information on the

non-Chinese BDTC minorities and the ex-servicemen. These

dicsussions were useful and are still continuing.

On

present form, it looks as if it may not prove too

CONFIDENTIAL