TNAG-1569-FCO40-2135-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-passports-Hong-Kong-(Br-1986 — Page 131

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Please reply to The Under Secretary of State Your reference

C Leeks

Esq

Hong Kong Department

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

LONDON

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Dea

Clintim,

Our reference

NTY/86 1/387/13

Date

16 October 1986

HONG KONG: BRITISH NATIONAL (OVERSEAS) STATUS:

REGULATIONS

As you know we need to make regulations to govern acquisition, renunciation deprivation of BN (0) status. We aim to have these in place by the end of the

year.

and

I attach draft Regulations and Deprivation Rules on which I would be grateful for your and Hong Kong's early comments. They are a straightforward adaptation of the British Nationality (Dependent Territories) Regulations 1982 (SI 1982/987).

We should also be grateful for your views on a related matter. As you know, the Regulations do not address themselves to the mechanics of registration and passport issue. The bulk of the work will be done in Hong Kong, but it is intended that BN(0) passports may also be issued by UK passport offices, consular officers abroad, and British High Commissions. We understand from Passport Department that it was not apparently envisaged that the Channel Islands and Isle of Man and other dependent territories should be able to issue BN (0) passports. We believe that it would be presentationally difficult to explain why these areas are to be excluded from the arrangements. And it would seem, on the face of it, to run counter to the commit- ment given by Lord Glenarthur during the debate on 20 January when he said "the

But it will be great majority of BN (0) passports will be issued in Hong Kong. possible for Hong Kong British Dependent Territories citizens to apply for a BN(0) passport wherever they may be. There will be a fee for the passport, which will be the same throughout the world". (Col 74). Although it is not essential that all the authorities to whom application for BN (0) status and passport may be made should also be capable of effecting registration and issuing the passport, neverthe- less it seems to us that Lord Glenarthur's statement is likely to be taken as

It would, meaning that BN (0) passports may be acquired anywhere in the world. our view, be difficult to explain why it was possible for a person to obtain a BN(0) passport if he was in a foreign country, but not if he was in another British dependent territory. We consider, therefore, that we should need to produce very cogent arguments if other dependent territories and the Islands were to be excluded from the passport issuing arrangements.

in

We would therefore wish to see these areas included in the arrangements for BN(0) registration and passport issuing on the same basis as Hong Kong, that is to say

This would presumably acting as agents for the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary. mean that they would need to carry stocks of the pre-printed BN (0) passport. But, with the possible exception of the Cayman Islands, the number of applicants from other dependent territories and the Islands is likely to be pretty small.

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