FCO_53_477_NATURALISATION_IN_HONG_KONG_POLICY_1976 — Page 4

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Mr Mitchell

در

WN346/393).24 @ Page 4 of 14

(See minutes

at Flag B GNN 8/393/10)

(Flag C)

Naturalisations in Hong Kong

1. I have had copies of the 1975 papers on this subject transferred to this file from the Nationality Review file (GNN 1/1) for ease of reference.

2. When Mr Rowlands, the Director of Immigration in Hong Kong, discussed this subject with Mr Dixon and Miss Cullis in September, 1975 he forecast that the backlog of naturalisation applications would be cleared early in 1976, following which the numbers would revert to normal,i.e.a batch of 20 every three weeks or so, which would give a total of approximately 250 per year. In his letter of 6 November he revised this estimate for clearance of the backlog to another six months, and his latest letter of 24 May gives a further revision to August, 1976.

3. So far this year we have been receiving batches of 20 applications for approval at the rate of one per week, a total of 460 applications to date. The major part of the latest batch received had been submitted to the Hong Kong authorities by the applicants in the third quarter of 1975,i.e. a processing period of 8-11 months before submission to this department for approval. It will be interesting to see in due course whether the increase in the naturalisation fee does prove to be a deterrant factor in the number of application received, and if so, whether the rejection rate continues at about 40%.

Darling

17 June 1976

Why Brown

1/

I attach a

Rowlands.

(D, E. Tarling)

draft acknowledgement to Mr

mutite hell

18.6.1976

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