TNAG-2639-FCO40-3831-Future-of-Hong-Kong-British-nationality-dependants-1992 — Page 61

11 June 1992

Mr Charles Wardle MP

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Home Office

Queen Anne's Gate

LONDON

SW1

BRITISH NATIONALITY ACT 1981: HONG KONG

Thank you for your letter of 22 May about OMELCO's

request for a group of Hong Kong children to be

registered as British citizens under section 3 (1) of the British Nationality Act 1981.

During my recent visit to Hong Kong Dr Leong from

OMELCO asked about the progress being made on this

matter. I spoke as proposed in your letter. Dr Leong

replied that your offer to consider each case on its

merits was encouraging, but he clearly preferred a

blanket agreement if possible. His current estimate of

numbers was about 140 families involving some 200

children. He understood that many of these families had

already petitioned the Home Office and he undertook to

let us have further data about them.

I am grateful for the offer to consider each

applicant on its merits. But I do not believe that it

deals adequately with OMELCO's wishes. It would leave