TNAG-2198-FCO40-3152-Hong-Kong-nationality-spouses-and-widows-of-British-expatria-1990 — Page 74

DRAFT LETTER FOR SIGNATURE BY LORD FERRERS

The Rt Hon Lord Colnbrook KCMG

Thank you for your letter of 4 July enclosing a paper from Mr

Julian Walsh, the Chairman of the Concerned British Expatriates

Society in Hong Kong, about the immigration and nationality position of the spouses of British citizens resident

in Hong

Kong.

British citizens' spouses already have considerable assurance

that if the family were to wish to leave Hong Kong they would

have no difficulty in entering the United Kingdom. Under the

Immigration Rules the spouse of a British citizen is entitled to

accompany him or her to the United Kingdom for settlement provided that:

i. the primary purpose of the marriage was not to obtain

admission to the United Kingdom;

ii.

the parties to the marriage have met and intend to live

permanently together; and

iii. the parties can maintain and accommodate themselves

adequately without recourse to public funds.

In practice it is most unlikely that the existing spouse of an

expatriate British citizen who has been working overseas and is

returning to the United Kingdom would not meet these

requirements. Last year, out of 269, only four applications for

entry clearance as a spouse or fiance (e) were refused in Hong

Kong; all four

four of

of those cases involved the very different

situation where a person settled in the United Kingdom sought to bring in someone he or she was marrying from abroad. Nor is

there any reason to fear that a spouse might have difficulty in

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