TNAG-2198-FCO40-3152-Hong-Kong-nationality-spouses-and-widows-of-British-expatria-1990 — Page 167

The Concerned British Expatriates' Society

The notes below summarise the concerns faced by a group of British citizens in Hong Kong whose spouses do not hold full British passports, and explain why measures recently annnounced by the Home Secretary will not achieve their desired objective.

1. Current legislation

Prior to the implementation on January 1, 1983 of the 1991 British Nationality Act ( BNA 1981) a British male automatically passed nationality to his wife if she was not already British. A British female however did not automatically pass nationality to her non-British A husband without a period of residence in the UK.

After implementation of the BNA 1981 a non-British spouse of either sex was required to reside in the UK for a period ef three years before being entitled to citizenship. Residence overseas, even in a British territory under British administration, did not count. A major reason for the change in law is believed to be to control an apparently high incidence of abuse of the marriage laws in order to circumvent, immigration control, which the residential requirement was designed to address.

A.

chis

40

блас / waitin

73

Hence legislation has always recognised the right of a non-British spouse to the right of abode in Britain. What has changed is simply the criteria which need to be satisfied before that right can be exercised.

Any children of the marriage, no matter where born, would however be full British citizens at birth as long as one of their parents was born in Britain.

2.Our spouses' position------during our lifetime

Unless we return permanently to the UK our spouses do not have the right of entry to or abode in Britain. They can of course visit Britain as a tourist, in their own right, like any other foreign national. But like other tourists they do not have the right to stay in Britain.

A typical case might be a spouse who has been lawfully married to a British citizen for several years, parent of full British children, possibly joint property owner in Britain, resident in a British territory under British administration, familiar with Britain, its customs and culture yet not entitled to right of entry or abcde in Britain.

ELZ JO

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