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ownership of investments or property here; and relatives living in the United Kingdom. If, as Mr Tai and Mr Fong say to you in their letter of 24 July, most of the parents acquired British citizenship through residence in the United Kingdom and hold senior positions in Hong Kong, then I have little doubt that the vast majority of applications will be successful.
As regards the age limit, under Section 3(1) of the 1981 Act, I only have discretion to register minor children, but, as Charles Wardle has confirmed, the operative date is the date of application, so that those children who have since turned 18 have not lost out as a result of the delay in considering their cases, provided that their application was made before they reached 18.
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I do not think that publicly we can go much further than this. agree that the purpose of the 1990 Act and the special selection scheme is to anchor people in Hong Kong, but it was never envisaged at the time of that Act that, in relation to Hong Kong, the provisions of the 1981 Act should be applied with the same purpose. During Committee Stage on the Hong Kong Bill Peter Lloyd said in terms that, in relation to those not covered by the Bill, existing nationality principles would remain intact and the 1981 Act would continue to function. The inevitable publicity this will receive in Hong Kong is bound to renew the pressure from others such as the wives of businessmen for similar concessions whilst at the same time attracting criticism from our supporters who opposed the 1990 Act that we are going further than we said during its passage.
I hope that you can agree to this approach, so that we can make a start on considering the applications which in itself will ofer some reassurance to these families.
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KENNETH CLARKE
No comments yet.
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