TNAG-2198-FCO40-3152-Hong-Kong-nationality-spouses-and-widows-of-British-expatria-1990 — Page 78

DRAFT LETTER FOR SIGNATURE BY LORD FERRERS

The Lord Tanlaw

Thank you for your letter of 9 July 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.

ii.

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

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 259, only four applications for

encry clearance 35 a spouse or fiance(e) were refused in Hong

Kong; all 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 leaving Hong Kong after 1997, as the Basic Law follows section 14 of the Joint Declaration in guaranteeing the right of freedom

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