TNAG-2931-FCO40-4206-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-British-National-(Overseas)-1993 — Page 103

MAR '93 15:20 B4 LINU USI

Immigration and Nationality Department

Nationality Division 3rd Floor India Buildings Water Street Liverpool L2 0QN Telephone 051-236 4723

Miss Ingrid Ho

Security Branch

Government Secretariat

Hong Kong

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Your reference

Our reference

NY/93 176/1080/1

Date

10 March 1993

Hong Kong (British Nationality) (Amendment) Order 1993

This incorporates I attach a second draft of the above Order. a) the agreed amendments listed in the first half of my letter of 11 February and b) several others which seem acceptable in the light of the comments made on the points that I set out for further consideration.

(This 2. On the former, Ms Brooks wondered whether the amendment mentioned in paragraph 6 of my letter was appropriate.

You had concerned the deletion of Article 3(7) which provided for late registration, in exceptional circumstances, of BDTCs.) said in your letter of 4 February that you did not wish to Ms Brooks provide for late applications because peuple would have been given sufficient time to consider for themselves.

This seems to me, thought it necessary to have this provision for persons who could show exceptional circumstances justifying it. however, to be a misunderstanding. What is being overlooked is that it takes 12 months or more to process applications for BDTC. case we could not have applications being This being the submitted as late as 30 June 1997 or even three months before I think, therefore, that we should this, as Ms Brooks suggests.

continue to exclude provision for late BDTC applications.

3.

As to the exceptional circumstances for late applications for BN(0), you suggested in your letter that it would give you more flexibility in dealing with such applications if Article 4(4) were redrafted to refer to "the special circumstances of any We are content with this in principle but particular case" legal advisers would prefer simply to change "exceptional" to "special" in the Article rather than redraft as you propose. They see difficulty with your form of words, which does not alter the meaning but seems rather more cumbersome.

amended the

time for Schedule to give more 4. We have applications to be made in respect of all children born in 1996, rather than merely those born in the last quarter of the year, since column 1 deals with whole years and it would be untidy to introduce quarter years.