TNAG-1849-FCO40-2624-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 66

24 MAY 89 23:39

FROM CO1 TECH RADIO

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TRANSCRIPT J; SELECT COMMITTEE RE HONG KONG - 24 MAY 1989

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PAGE.030-056

MR. TIX RENTON:

That, I have to say, is a little bit more difficult.

There is no discretion under existing law to waive the

residence requirement except, as you will know,

cases that involve Crown servants and this is in

in certain

accordance with the principle behind the BNA of 1981 that

British citizenship can be acquired only establishing

close links with the UK itself, for which purpose

residence periods are prescribed by law.

So married couples in this position have no need to

fear that their different citizenships may part them,

because there is nothing to stop the spouse following hare

the British citizen. At any moment a British citizen can

at any time return to the UK and he or she can as of right

bring his or her spouse. The non-British spouse in such

cases would be admitted for twelve months in the first

That restriction would be removed if the

marriage was still subsisting and the spouse would be

entitled as of right to register as a British citizen

after a total of five years residence or she could apply

or he could apply for naturalisation on the basis of three

instance.

years residence,