Passports (Hansard, 17 February 1994)

§ Mr. Gapes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now arrange for the issue of a full British passport or travel documents to Mrs. Hunwicks, a constituent of the hon. Member for Ilford, South.

§ Mr. Charles Wardle
Mrs. Hunwicks has not acquired British citizenship and thus does not qualify for a British passport. Any application she may wish to make for a Home Office travel document will be considered on its merits.

§ Mr. Gapes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are applied by officials in the Passport Agency and his Department when deciding whether or not to issue passports to people living in this country for the last 30 years but who were born in the republic of Cyprus(a) before and (b) after it gained its independence.

§ Mr. Charles Wardle
The Passport Agency issues British passports to those who qualify under the relevant nationality legislation. In the case of people born in Cyprus, this is the Cyprus Act 1960 and the British Nationality (Cyprus) Order 1960.

§ Mr. Gapes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the Passport Agency has refused to issue a full passport to Mrs. Hunwicks, a constituent of the hon. Member for Ilford, South; and what account was taken of the issue of a British visitor's passport.

§ Mr. Charles Wardle
Mrs. Hunwicks has not acquired British citizenship and thus does not qualify for a British passport.

§ Mr. Gapes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Mr. and Mrs. Hunwicks, constituents of the hon. Member for Ilford, South, first applied for passports at the Passport Office at Petty France, London; what reasons they gave for the application; when Mr. Hunwicks was given his passport; why Mrs. Hunwicks was refused a passport; and how many subsequent visits and telephone calls Mr. and Mrs. Hunwicks made to the Passport Office.

§ Mr. Charles Wardle
Mr. Hunwicks applied for British passports for himself and his wife on 18 January 1994 to enable them to travel to Morocco. A passport for Mr. Hunwicks was issued on 21 January. He was informed that a passport could not be issued to Mrs. Hunwicks as she has not yet acquired British citizenship. Mr. and Mrs. Hunwicks have made three visits to London passport office, and had several telephone conversations, in seeking to clarify this situation.
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