TNAG-2193-FCO40-3130-Hong-Kong-nationality-package-1990 — Page 94

CONFIDENTIAL

The UK Team in Hong Kong: Manpower

14. Under Clause 1(1) and Schedule 2, paragraph 1 the Secretary

of State is required to register persons recommended by the

Governor unless he has reason to believe that they are not of

good character. Since the Governor will already have eliminated

applicants against whom anything is known to him the Secretary

of State's discretion to withhold registration will rarely be

exercised. It is there as a long stop and because Parliament

will expect the Secretary of State to have the final say in the

grant of citizenship.

15.

Registration will be undertaken by a team of UK civil

servants located in Hong Kong. Their task will be to:

recommendations

Governor.

(a) receive, record (possibly on computer) and consider

from the

Each

recommendation will be accompanied by a brief (perhaps

normally only one or two sides) case summary,

including information relevant to the application's

character;

(b)

(c)

in the great majority of cases (we have assumed 95%}

decide to approve the recommendation and issue a

certificate of registration; and

in a small minority of cases make further enquiries of

the Hong Kong Government or refer the case to the Home

Office Nationality Division in London. Refusal cases

will probably be submitted to the Home Secretary.

16. The need for staff will depend on workload and productivity.

So far as the workload is concerned it is envisaged that 43,000

of the 50,000 places would be allocated in a first tranche to be

launched as soon as possible after Parliament's approval of the

Order in Council giving effect to the scheme. The Hong Kong

Government estimate that the flow of recommendations will begin

within a few months of launch, ie quite early into the financial

year 1991/2, and will take about two years to complete.

CONFIDENTIAL

We await