TNAG-1850-FCO40-2625-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 130

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Avenues to British Citizenship

(10) By settlement was the 1981 Act directed particularly against

Hong Kong

(11)

(12)

(13)

(14)

Residency

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what percentage of applications for immigration controls to be lifted from BDTCs have been accepted in recent years?

[The pracize years are left to us for our coaventence.]

The rate of settlement by work permit holders from Hong Kong increased from 860 in 1986 to 1150 in 1988 - more than a third in two years. Is this part of a general trend across the board; and do you expect the figures for those from Hong Kong to continue in this way?

Work permits are administered by the Department of Employment. Nevertheless do we think that there could co-ordination between Government Departments to enable Hong Kong to build up confidence among the best of their workforce in the long term by enabling them to send those employees over here for a while to gain residence entitlement and then to be returned to Hong Kong with a sense of security.

[Committee believes US firms are doing this.)

It is noted that the Secretary of State has discretion to relax residency requirments, for instance, for the businessman whose business makes him travel abroad. Are there are other ways apart from the "Businessman Abroad" example? For instance, what about a shorter residence requirement for those with work permits brought over here from Hong Kong under the sort of scheme set out in the previous question?

Other Categories of Feople who may wish to have Settlement in the United Kingdom

(15)

(16)

(17)

(18)

(19)

If War Widowe cannot be given British Citizenship can they not at least be given an undertaking that they can come to the United Kingdom for settlement, given their small number?

Hong Kong BDTC spouses of British Citizens are not able to build up residence in the United Kingdom if their British Citizen

Could there spouses cannot come here for one reason or another. be flexibility on residencey requirements to get round this problem?

BOC statue is available for non-Chinese BDTCS to avoid statelessness. Are they not owed something by the United Kingdom because the system after 1997 discriminates against them?

To whom is it unfair to allow the time spent here as a student to count towards settlement and why? [Our memorandum said it would be unfair.]

How many Hong Kong students in any recent year would actually have fulfilled residency requirements by being here as students, had that avenue to settled status been open to them?

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