TNAG-2192-FCO40-3129-Hong-Kong-nationality-package-1990 — Page 141

CONFIDENTIAL

34.

The Steering Group will then submit a list of successful candidates to the Governor who, if satisfied, may recommend the grant of citizenship by the Secretary of State.

35. HKID will notify candidates of the result of their applications.

APPROVED SECONDMENTS SCHEME

36.

This section explains how the Secondments Scheme would work if Ministers

decided to retain it.

37.

Participants in the scheme ("secondees") will be nominated by sponsoring organisations ("sponsors"). Individuals will not be able to apply in their own right. For secondees accepted onto the scheme, the completion of five years residence in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong will, subject to certain conditions, lead to a recommendation from the Governor for registration as a British citizen.

38.

39.

Organisations eligible to act as sponsors will be

British firms based in Hong Kong with offices, subsidiary companies or trading partners in the UK;

other Hong Kong based companies with branches in the UK;

other companies or organisations (eg the Garrison, PSA, British Council) at the Secretary of State's discretion.

The

Places will be allocated and secondees accepted on the scheme no later than 1 January 1992. For any secondees accepted before that date, the five year period will commence from the date of acceptance on the scheme. scheme will end on 31 December 1996. The qualifying period to be spent in the UK will be a minimum of 24 months (unless the Secretary of State decides ctherwise in the particular circumstances of individual cases) to be broken down over the five year period at the discretion of the sponsor. Secondees will return to Hong Kong at the end of the scheme.

40.

It will be a condition of acceptance on the scheme that the secondee remains in the employment of the sponsor for the duration of the approved secondrent. The Secretary of State will, however, have discretion to waive this requirement in the particular circumstances of individual cases, for example, if the sponsor moves from Hong Kong, ceases to trade, or becomes unacceptable as a result of unfavourable information coming to light. In such

CONFIDENTIAL