TNAG-2198-FCO40-3152-Hong-Kong-nationality-spouses-and-widows-of-British-expatria-1990 — Page 160

E.R.

DRAFT LETTER FOR MR LLOYD'S SIGNATURE TO MR BOWEN WELLS MP

During Committee last week you raised a point about the wives of

British citizens resident in Hong Kong. I undertook to write to

you about this.

Under the Immigration Rules, the spouse of a British citizen is

entitled to accompany him Or her to the UK for settlement

provided that certain requirements are met. These are as

follows:

fiances.

i)

that the primary purpose of the marriage was not to obtain admission to the United Kingdom;

ii)

iii)

accommodate

that the parties to the marriage have met and intend to live permanently together; and

that the parties can maintain and

themselves adequately without recourse to public funds.

In practice very few spouses seeking admission from Hong Kong

2 find these tests difficult to meet. In 1989, 320 spouses and finance(e)s were granted entry clearances on the basis of marriage to British citizens resident in Hong Kong, and 6 applications were refused.

British citizens' spouses do, of course, have the right to come

to this country with their husbands or wives for settlement at

any time, either before or after 1997. During the Second Reading

of the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Bill, the Home Secretary

gave a further assurance that the widow or widower of a British

citizen who was resident in Hong Kong at the time of his or her death would be allowed to settle in the United Kingdom at any time as if coming here as the spouse of a British citizen. To

benefit from this assurance the widow or widower must still be

resident in Hong Kong, not have remarried, and not have citizenship of a third country (ie other than Chinese, BN(0) or

BDTC).