TNAG-2950-FCO40-4227-Hong-Kong-visa-free-travel-for-British-Nationals-(Overseas)--1993 — Page 81

1993-02-17 12:28 SECURITY BRANCH

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852 868 5074 F.03

Acceptability of BN (0) Passports

This is a more immediate issue as you recognised, with its connection with our BN (0) conversion programme and our

and Austria via you. We are grateful pressure on Mauritius that you have been separately considering how to promote the acceptability of the BN (O) passport. In response to your request I enclose an updated list of countries which now allow visa-free entry by HKBDTCS and BN (0)s and another list of countries which allow BC passport holders visa-free entry but not BDTCS or BN(0)s. The Legislative Council Panel on Security has recently raised this question and these two lists were given to LegCo members on the Panel at their request for information.

Their comment was, predictably, that as much as possible should be done to secure visa-free entry privilege for BN (O)s from, in particular, European Community countries, such as France and Germany which were major tourist and business destinations (EC abolition of almost all internal travel restrictions made the BN(0)/3DTC position look even worse, they felt). On principle more, Brunei was picked out, as LegCo members were of the view that since the Judiciary of Hong Kong had considerably assisted that of Brunei, Brunei's visa policy towards Hong Kong should be more liberal along the lines of some others in our region.

I shall let you have a copy of the confirmed minutes of the Panel meeting as soon as they are available, to fill in this summary, but I presume you are in any case following up our Telno 203 and your previous plans, for which Hong Kong will be grateful.

Yunis

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(Simon Vickers)

for Secretary for Security