TNAG-1849-FCO40-2624-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 27

TRANSCRIPT I SELECT CONNITTER ON HONG KONG 24 MAY 1989

MR RENTON (CONT):

But I think we do have to look at all of those

categories as individual categories to see very clearly

what is involved in terms of the word debt, as you put it,

or service, and therefore what are the appropriate steps

for the United Kingdom Government to take to recognise

obligation.

On the other category you mentioned, businessmen,

you will I think know the general rules under which the

Government does encourage businessmen who wish to invest

in this country to come here to make their investment and

then after a reasonable period of residence in this

country, for which there is a measure of discretion for

the Home Secretary, they can obtain settlement after 4

years, arguably a slightly shorter period, and that

settlement would, in the normal course of events, lead to

their permission to obtain citizenship after a further

year. But during that period of time they have of course

to show that they are definitely putting their roots down

in this country.

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But there is quite a lot of discretion and quite a

lot of encouragement in that area.

MR TEMPLE-MORRIS:

We will come to the specific categories but finally

this general point, many Hong Kong people, if not all