lt.tu.PETER
JEB
BY FAX
September 1993
Mrs Elsie Tu
Legislative Council House Committee Legislative Council Building
8 Jackson Road
Central
Hong Kong
Thank you for your letter of 7 September on behalf of members of LegCo about the possible curtailment of visa-free entry for Hong Kong British Dependent Territory Citizens (BDTCs) and British National (Overseas) Citizens (BN (0)s to European countries which are signatories of the Schengen Convention.
I agree with you that continuity in visa free travel arrangements is an important factor in sustaining the confidence of Hong Kong people. We have indeed already taken up the matter with Schengen Convention countries and have urged those who do not at present require visas to maintain visa free access for these Hong Kong visitors.
We understand that BDTCs and BN (0)s will continue to enjoy visa free travel to Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands,
Italy and Greece. We have also established that there are no
plans at present for a common approach among the Schengen Convention signatories towards visas for Hong Kong. But the Spanish authorities tell us that they will require BDTCS and BN (0)s visiting Spain from 1 October 1993 to apply for visas. This requirement in effect brings to an end an arrangement which has been in force since 1988 under which Spain suspended its existing visa requirements allow holders of these passports visiting Spain for less than a month to do so
without needing visas.
In other words from 1 October Spain
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