TNAG-1850-FCO40-2625-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 129

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ADVANCE INDICATION OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE'S QUESTIONS ON 24 MAY 1989

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General Principles

(1)

(2)

(3)

What is the Minister's response to OMELCO's point that Britain has a moral obligation to Hong Kong?

How does our stated policy of keeping primary liamigration to a minimum square with the immigration policies* of other

EC countries and with our obligations under the Treaty of Rome for the free movement of labour?

[* For instance do other countries allow time spent there as a student to count towards settlement?]

How many people in Hong Kong are eligible to BDTC or BNO paseports, how many actually held these passports and how many of those are non-Chinese?

[If the number of passport holders is much lower than those eligible for those passports, this indicates that there is not that much pressure to come to the United Kingdom and surely we could allow them to enter the United Kingdom for settlement.]

BNO Citizenship

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

People in Hong Kong including OMELCO think that BNO citizenship is not worthwhile and that the BNO passports are not being taken up in the same number as BDTC passports. What is the Minister's response to this?

Austria does not require a visa for BDTC passports but does for BNO passports.

Pakistan does not allow entry to BNO passport holders at all, Are there other examples of difficulties of this nature?

Are there any plans to make ENO passports more attractive?

What are the differences between RNO and 800 citizenships7

We said that the powers under the Hong Kong Act could not be used again to give a right of abode to BNOS. Could they be used again for anything less far-reaching? For example - what scope is there for the Order in Council to be amended, as OMELCO have suggested, to give BNOS a right of readmission?

If primary Legislation is required to alter the status of BNOS eg as in the Falklands Act - how confident is the Minister of being able to do that? (This question enables the witness to set out difficulties.]

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