TNAG-2161-FCO40-3083-Hong-Kong-visa-abolition-agreements-1990 — Page 156

HD2AHX/1

12

CCNFIDENTIAL

Mr. Morris

and Mr He

Hagle

Ms

لسلام

Miss Marsden HKC345/1

Mr

Moni's

28 MAY 1990

FROM

DATE:

MISS SPENCER

PS/MR SAINSBURY

Please discuss

(2691)

this morning

R S GORHAM, WIAD

12 MARCH 1990

MR BEAMISH

MR MONTGOMERY, MVD

MR PAUL, HKD

A

TH

COPY

FOR

BERMUDA: VISA ABOLITION AGREEMENTS WITH EC MEMBER

Problem

W14/3

STATES

1. How should we respond to the request from the Government of Bermuda for assistance in negotiating visa abolition agreements with EC member states?

Recommendation

2. I recommend that we instruct our missions in those six EC countries with which Bermuda has not yet negotiated an agreement to support Bermuda's

negotiations. I submit a draft telegram. MVD and HKD

concur.

Background

3.

Prior to the introduction of the British Nationality Act 1981 some of the visa abolition agreements which we had with some 41 countries included provision for those countries to admit without visas British Subjects, Citizens of the UK and Colonies resident in our Dependent Territories. The 1981 Act changed the status of the DT residents concerned from BSCUKC to British Dependent Territory Citizens. We sent notes to the London Embassies of all the VAA partner countries in 1981 advising them that it was our intention that the UK's international agreement should be interpreted as continuing to apply to BDTCs and BOCS as they had previously to BSCUKCs. However, the legal basis for this assertion was always in doubt and in practice a number of EC member states have since that time insisted that BDTCs resident in Bermuda (and in other Dependent Territories) have visas.

4. Until 1 January 1983 when the British Nationality Act came into effect, a passport issued in Bermuda described a resident of that Territory as a "Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies." After the introduction of the 1981 Act, the description was amended to "British Dependent Territories Citizen (Bermuda)". When this change was introduced, the Bermuda Government was under the impression that the new format passport would be accepted by third countries on the same basis as the old one, and that holders of Bermuda passports would continue to have visa-free access to those countries with which the UK had

CONFIDENTIAL