TNAG-2714-FCO40-3920-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1993 — Page 25

14-JUL-1993

14:40

TRANSCRIPT

Gallagher

0491 579838

P.22

MR ALASTAIR GOODLAD

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SELECT COMMITTEE

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14 JULY 93

- 22.

MR GOODLAD;

Yes I would like to be able to define what would be grounds for the future exercise by the government of the day of the power to admit to the UK. It is of course a Home Office responsibility and not mine, but I would be a little surprised if even they could define as accurately as Mr Kanavan would no doubt wish, precisely what would constitute those grounds in advance. But I will certainly ask the Home Office and make their judgments on that available to the committee.

MR KANAVAN:

we would be grateful for expansion of the criteria that would be considered sympathetically. In the paper that we have got from the Secretary of State about this matter, he has referred to various points of objection and he took up the matter of transmitability of British dependent territory citizenship of British Nationals Overseas. Supposing someone had a descendant, say a grandchild of someone of non-Chinese origin and that someone was a holder of a British dependent territories citizenship, supposing this grandchild was born in Hong Kong after 1997, would that child have a choice of either Chinese nationality or British overseas citizenship because from the evidence available it would appear that the Chinese authorities would not allow that child to become a Chinese national because it would not be of ethnic origin Chinese? So if Chinese nationality is refused, as seems likely, then would that child automatically be granted British Overseas citizenship?