TNAG-1849-FCO40-2624-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 49

A

24 MAY 89 23:27

FROM COI TECH RADIO

TRANSCRIPT J: SELECT COMMITTEE RE HONG KONG

24 MAY 1989

-12-

PAGE.013. 056

KR. TIM RENTON:

but

I think there is a misunderstanding here, if I may

say so because this is a very complicated subject, what you will find AMELCO are asking for is actually a right of admission facility because very few Hong Kongers

at the moment have right of readmission.

Right of readmission, as Mr. Rowlands may remember,

is actually for example for certain UK passport holders who were exempt from control under the Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1962 and who were issued prior to 1 January 1973 with UK passports in the common travel area, Right of readmission belongs to this limited

somewhat historical category. There are very few Hong Kongers with that and as we read AXELCO's suggestion, they are actually asking for a right of admission facility, in

effect for unrestricted admission for settlement,

say

which is

I have to

very close to right of abode, and this would be,

contradictive of the fundamental principles of

immigration control about which I have already been

speaking.

MR. DENNIS CANAVAN:

it would

So if an amendment were to be introduced,

have to be done by means of primary legislation, presumably in the form of a Bill similar to the British

Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act of 1983.