TNAG-2082-FCO40-2963-Policy-on-visas-and-entry-certificates-in-Hong-Kong-1990 — Page 51

CONFIDENTIAL

For information on 3 July 1990

HKB 345/

OJ

INTRODUCT:

POPUCTION

Visa Policy fill pl.

XCCI (90) 35

Copy No...

NOTE FOR THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

REVIEW OF POLICY ON THE ADMISSION

OF EAST EUROPEAN AND

SOVBLOC NATIONALS TO HONG KONG

22

37

Miss Mo

Fury #1957

Pa

41)

Europe has

The

permitted a

situation in Eastern

changing review of policy towards the admission of East European and Sovbloc nationals to Hong Kong.

2

This paper reports on the relaxations to existing policy which are now considered possible.

BACKGROUND

3

Present policy, which is set out in the Annex, was formulated having

having regard to the traditional security threats posed by these countries, and to Chinese sensitivities over their presence in Hong Kong.

4

Eastern

Following recent assessments of the threat posed by European and Sovbloc countries, we propose to maintain existing policy and procedures for Afghanistan, Albania, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, Mongolia, Romania, North Korea, the Soviet Union and Vietnam. This restricts entry to genuine businessmen, international entertainers and sportsmen, UN officials on UN business, conference and trade fair delegates, merchant seamen and other minor categories.

5

For the East European countries of Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia we intend to reduce the visa processing time to ten working days from date of receipt to the date of response by our Immigration Department. This reduction in time will be achieved by streamlining

streamlining security checks in respect of the countries mentioned in this paragraph.

6

For East Germany, we intend to follow HMG's lead and abolish separate visa requirements from the end of July. Thereafter, they will be treated like West Germans. The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen), which has merged with the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) to become the Republic of Yemen, will be deleted from the lists of Eastern European and Sovbloc countries and will be treated for visa purposes in the same manner as was the Yemen Arab Republic.

CONFIDENTIAL