§ Sir Ivan LawrenceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to grant British citizenship to the wives and widows of service men who served in the defence of Hong Kong during the second world war; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HowardI have no power to grant British citizenship to this group of people unless they meet the residence requirements of the British Nationality Act 1981 or quality under the Hong Kong selection scheme; and I do not think that I would be justified in bringing forward legislation to dispense with the normal statutory provisions in their case. The Government have on many occasions given an assurance that these wives and widows may come to the United Kingdom with a view to settlement at any time. I readily repeat that assurance. It would then be open to them to apply in the normal way to be registered or naturalised as British citizens when they met the statutory requirements.