TNAG-2180-FCO40-3117-Hong-Kong-nationality-international-support-1990 — Page 89

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5. The French Government are implementing a scheme to

for provide passports or right of entry up to 1,500 employees of French companies and their families. Germany, Belgium

and Luxembourg are about to finalise schemes of broadly the

same nature. A number of other EC countries are actively considering what they could do to help.

6. Singapore has already introduced a scheme covering up to 25,000 heads of household. This has been operating for a

number of months.

7.

In Australian immigration rules, flexibility exists to allow those granted migrant status to travel widely during

the first three years after their arrival: and in some cases

to live outside Australia after that without prejudicing their migrant or residency status.

8.

The Canadian Government has welcomed and supports the

British Government's efforts to ensure the continued

prosperity and stability of Hong Kong through the nationality

package. They have confirmed that flexibility also exists in Canadian citizenship and immigration regulations. We hope that such flexibility will be exercised to the fullest extent

possible.

9.

In the US, I was very pleased to hear recently that a

leading Congressman had proposed an amendment to the draft US

immigration bill (which among other things increases the

immigrant quota from Hong Kong to 20,000 per annum) to

include a provision that beneficaries may defer settlement

in the United States until the year 2002. Of course there is some way to go before this could become law. But it is

an imaginative proposal, which we welcome: it is exactly the

sort of measure that would help Hong Kong.