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Immigration - in brief: UK

01 March 1996

UK: Hong Kong consolation: Having refused British passports to all but the top 50,000 of the former UK and Colonies citizens of Hong Kong, the government's consolation prize is visa-free travel to Britain for the colony's two million Chinese non-citizens. The generosity of the prime minister during his visit to Hong Kong extended to promising to clear a path to granting British citizenship to 27 wives and widows of soldiers who fought in the British army during the Second World War. Independent, 4, 5.3.96. UK: Marriage policy change: The Home Office has severely tightened its policy which allowed deportees with a British husband, wife or children to stay in the country. The new guidelines lay down strict new criteria for the exercise of Home Office discretion - the marriage must have lasted for over two years and the British partner must prove that it would be unreasonable for him or her to live in the deportee's country. DP/3/96, Home Office Enforcement Policy Group, 13.3.96. UK: Immigration casework computer system: the Home Office has awarded the contract to "handle immigration casework" to Siemens Business Services Consortium "under the Private Finance Initiative" (whereby the company gets paid when the system is up and working). The system will start handling cases in the winter of 1997/98 and "Benefits will include enhanced immigration control as well as a significantly better service to the Immigration Department's many customers..." Home Office press release, 27.3.96.