TNAG-2746-FCO40-3961-Visits-by-Chris-Patten--Governor-of-Hong-Kong--to-the-UK-1993 — Page 37

bgrnd.cole.NAT

JEB

CONFIDENTIAL

Nationality Issues

1. Ethnic Minorities; Wives and Widows

- As a result of your latest approach, Mr Goodlad wrote again

to Charles Wardle on 21 July putting the case for British citizenship for the ethnic minorities and recommending that

the Home Secretary might use the discretion he has under the

British Nationality Act 1981 in favour of any wives or widows

who wish to settle here.

- We await a reply. But see no prospect that the Home Office intends to change present policy on this issue; in a written

answer on 26 July to a PQ by Graham Allen MP (on British

Citizenship for the non-Chinese ethnic minorities) Mr Wardle

restated the standard Home Office line. The Home Secretary

has also replied on these lines to Emily Lau's latest letter

to him of 15 July. We therefore see no prospect that the Home Office intends to change present policy on this issue.

(Detail if required)

- On the question of citizenship for the wives and widows of

ex-servicemen, we have been looking at the Home Secretary's

discretion to waive residential absences. The applicant must

be present at the beginning of the qualifying period, and very prolonged absences would be inconsistent with the principle that British citizenship should flow from a close personal

connection with the UK. But we believe there remains scope

for flexible use of discretion. We hope that Home Office

Ministers will agree with this approach. (But the widows would still have to come to the UK for a period to be agreed

on).

CONFIDENTIAL