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The United Kingdom's Dependent Territories
76.
The potential problems associated with migration to the Dependent Territories are beyond the scope of this paper, though in most Dependent Territories subjects do not have right of abode in the UK and are subject to immigration control. In the Dependent Territories themselves the responsibility for immigration policy is devolved to local governments, while the responsibility for nationality (ie the issue of passports) remains with HMG. The immigration policies of Dependent Territories governments in relation to, for example, labour shortages have only local effects (eg skilled expatriates for the banking sector in the Cayman Islands, unskilled labour from Jamaica (in the Cayma Islands) or Haiti and Dominican Republic (in the Turks and Caicos Islands) and although they can be significant for the Dependent Territories themselves they have minimal implications for mainland UK.
77. The problem of illegal immigration has been highlighted by the Vietnamese Boat people in Hong Kong (see paras 73-75). Strictly this remains the responsibility of local governments but the case of the Vietnamese Boat People illustrates that it is not always possible to hold this line. There are no other examples of unwanted illegal immigration on this scale within the Dependent Territories. Where illegal immigration does occur Dependent Territories governments apply the appropriate international criteria (eg the 1951 Convention if applicable). But the smaller Dependent Territories cannot realistically be expected to provide the necessary permanent facilities to screen all economic migrants to the UNHCR's standards.
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