From the Secretary of State
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HKD 340/4
RECEIVE
INDEX
19 APRI99:
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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
10 April 1991
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158
The Hague In 16/4 помут
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The ar
Lear Lord Burnrfitti
Thank you for your letter of 18 March about the Hong
Kong Nationality Scheme.
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The British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990 was introduced to grant British citizenship to key people in Hong Kong, to give them the assurance needed to persuade them to remain in the territory. In setting a ceiling on the scheme 50,000 principal beneficiaries or perhaps as many as 225,000 people including spouses and dependent children under 18 Parliament had to balance the desire to be as effective as possible in restoring confidence in Hong Kong against our ability to accept the individuals concerned for settlement in this country, should that ever be necessary.
During the passage of the Bill there were several estimates as to how many people might apply, ranging from a quarter of a million up to three quarters of a million. But 50,000 is the figure specified in the legislation. So although your suggestion of granting all applicants a passport may seem attractive, it would not be possible to go above the figure of 50,000 without further primary legislation.
Lord Butterfield of Stechford
/Your other
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