TNAG-2944-FCO40-4220-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-dependants-wives-and-widow-1993 — Page 112

16 March 1993

Foreign & Commonwealth

Office

10

Miss Ingrid Ho Security Branch

Government Secretariat

Hong Kong

Dear Miss Ho

WIVES AND WIDOWS OF EX-SERVICEMEN

PW.

RECC

London SWIA 2AH

Telephone: 071-

HKO 340/8

INUL

17 MAR 1993

Hong Kong telno 2973 of 31 December requested us (paragraph 5) to look again with the Home Office to see whether there might be some further latitude that might be applied, under existing nationality law, to the wives and widows of ex-servicemen and the question of their eligibility for registration as British citizens. The Home Office have now come back to us and have ruled out the approach outlined in paragraph 5 of the Hong Kong telegram under reference.

The detail of the Home Office answer is as follows:

The Home Office reviewed policy on wives and widows of ex-servicemen when preparing briefing for Mr Wardle's meetings with LegCo members in January. The conclusion the Home Office came to was that there is no way of granting British citizenship to the ladies in question as long as they remain in Hong Kong. The Home Office consider that none of the various options suggested by Security Branch is viable:

(a) Registration under section 4 (5) of the 1981 Act is confined to applicants who themselves have been in service specified in s.4(6) (eg. Crown service under the Government of a dependent territory).

(b) Naturalisation under section 6 (2) requires United Kingdom residence or a spouse who is in Crown or designated service at the date of application and who was recruited for it in the United Kingdom.

(c)

Section 8 registration was a transitional provision which ended on 312.12.87.

(a) Section 4 (2) is only open to applicants holding some form of British nationality and United Kingdom residence is required.

lrho.wives.NAT

JEB