TNAG-2183-FCO40-3120-Hong-Kong-nationality-international-support-1990 — Page 72

CONFIDENTIAL

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

Telephone 01-

R A Harrington Esq

Head of Nationality Division

Home Office

Lunar House

Wellesley Road

Croydon CR9 2BY

Ако 340/1

RECEIVER

17 OCT 1990

DESK OFFICE

Your reference

Our reference

Date

POPAFZ

12 October 1990

Dear Roy,

INDEX

GIBRALTAR: HONG KONG IMMIGRANTS

PA

1. Thank you for your letter of 21 September. We took account of your views in the briefing for Mr Garel-Jones' visit. The Minister made it clear to Mr Bossano that we could not accept a scheme that might breach the commitment we had given the House on numbers. Mr Bossano said frankly that he could not see a way forward and asked for our advice on how he could provide an assurance which would be attractive to Hong Kong and meet his objectives whilst satisfying ours. I think, therefore, that we can be confident that there will be no early, and potentially embarrassing, announcements of a scheme from Gibraltar.

2. Bossano gave the impression that he had not clearly thought through the precise mechanism by which Gibraltar could give assurances to Hong Kong people, (although we now know from separate direct contacts with officials of the Gibraltar Government that they have taken on board that they do not have the power to give an assurance leading to automatic citizenship without the approval of the Governor). Mr Bossano's request for advice may, of course, simply be a negotiating tactic (he is a shrewd operator), but prima facie he appears to be asking us to tell him what to do. This gives us the opportunity to advise him on the sort of scheme which would fulfil the requirements of our lobbying on international support and at the same time not run any risks of breaching the 50,000 limit. I should welcome your advice on what sort of scheme we might wish to advocate which would be possible within Gibraltar's Immigration Regulations.

3.

For ease of reference I enclose copies of Gibraltar Immigration Regulations (with which you may already be familiar). The key element in making any assurance attractive to Hong Kong and consistent with our objectives is that it should not require the recipient to leave Hong Kong in order to qualify. At first sight I do not see any obvious method in the Immigration Control Ordinance of doing this.

CONFIDENTIAL

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