TNAG-2198-FCO40-3152-Hong-Kong-nationality-spouses-and-widows-of-British-expatria-1990 — Page 75

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leaving Hong Kong after 1997,

as

the Basic Law Follows section

14 of the Joint Declaration in guaranteeing the right of freedcm

of movement to people with valid travel documents.

is

Having said this, we Sully appreciate sne point which

frequently made about the possibility of the spouse of a British

citizen being stranded in Hong Kong in the event of the British

partner's death. With this in mind, the Home Secretary gave an assurance during the Second Reading of the British Nationality

(Hong Kong) Bill that the widow or widower of a British citizen

resident in Hong Kong at the time of his or her death would be

allowed to settle in the United Kingdom at any time, eicher

before OI after 1997, 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 and act have

remarried. The assurance was originally limited to spouses who

did not themselves have citizenship of a third country. However

in the light of representations from che Concerned British

Expatriates Society and

and others.

Ecme Secretary has now

decided to extend the assurance so that it applies to all widows and widowers of British citizens resident in Hong Kong at the

time of their death, regardless of nationality, provided only

that he or she has not remarried and is still resident in Hong

Xong. We believe that this provides the spouses of British citizens resident in Hong Kong with a very significant safety

net in the event of the British partner's death.

the

We do also understand the expatriates' concern that their spouses

should be able to obtain

to obtain some evidence of their status and an

assurance that if they decided to come to the United Kingdom an

application for the necessary entry clearance would be processed speedily. Accordingly, we are making arrangements whereby the

spouse of a British citizen resident in Hong Kong may approach

the Hong Kong Immigration Department who act for us in entry clearance matters with evidence of the marriage. The details will be noted in a register of non-British citizen spouses of

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