TNAG-2082-FCO40-2963-Policy-on-visas-and-entry-certificates-in-Hong-Kong-1990 — Page 79

布政司署

香港下亞厘畢道

CONFIDENTIAL

DIEU

HKB

EIVER 'N

pa RM7 17/6

24

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

345/1

JUN 1990

HONG KONG

21 May 1990

本署檔號 Our Ref:

PA SCR 6/2071/89

來函檔號 Your Ref:

Mr AR Paul

Hong Kong Department

FCO

Dear Alam,

1

Hong Kong's Visa Policy for Nationals from

(16)

Communist States

I think we should offer a reply from here to

Priestley's letter of 9 May to you.

On

Manila has not been copied in on our correspondence about this subject, so naturally will not be aware of how far our policy review has got. We have already considerably loosened up our visa policy, particularly for businessmen. top of our agenda at the moment is reducing the time needed to issue visas from something like six weeks to 10 working days. There will be further steps beyond that, but in line with, and probably a little behind, the United Kingdom (for instance, a visa-free regime for nationals of certain East European countries).

However, Priestley's question relates to diplomats of communist countries; in particular, his Soviet colleagues. The answer there is that we envisage no relaxation at all for the moment. The reason for this is that our policy is guided by

self-interest. While we can see value in making it easier for businessmen from Eastern European countries to come to Hong Kong we are not persuaded that the same applies in the case of Soviet diplomats. That is, of course, a collective 'we': as you know, visa policy is not a matter for this office alone.

CC:

Yousun

Stephen Brother Fraphen

Brady

(S E Bradley)

Deputy Political Adviser

Mr P J Priestley, BE, Manila Mr A Montgomery, MVD, FCO Chancery, Moscow

My

Marssen

Wol

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