Home Return Permit

Home Return Permit (), also referred to as 'home visit permit', or 'China Back Home Pass', is a national identity document issued to citizens from Hong Kong and Macao as the entry permit to mainland China. It is issued by the Public Security Bureau of Guangdong province through China Travel Service sub-branches in Hong Kong and Macao.

Appearance

Currently, the permit is a small RFID wallet-sized card which facilitates travel and self-service electronic gates on the mainland side (requires the registration of thumb print and facial scan), which is replacing cumbersome permits formerly issued and stamping procedures before. This card is officially known as the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents (港澳居民来往内地通行证, 港澳居民來往內地通行證, Gǎng-Aò Jūmín Láiwǎng Nèidì Tōngxíngzhèng).

Before the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, permits resembled a passport physically (though the PRC Government never recognised it as a passport proper) and the mainland authorities stamped the permits upon entering and exiting. The passport-looking permit was known as Home-Visiting Certificate for Compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao (港澳同胞回乡证, 港澳同胞回鄉證, Gǎng-Aò Tóngbaō Huíxiāng Zhèng).

Validity

Usually these permits are valid for 10 years or 3 years for minors under 18. However, sometimes there are one or two-time home visit permits issued due to political reasons. Some controversial individuals, such as pro-democracy politicians, are only issued single visit permits. Temporary permits are also used for those for practical reasons, such as a person's permit has expired and the replacement has not arrived.

History

Before the transfer of sovereignty, home return permits were issued to any ethnic Chinese person in Hong Kong or Macao as the PRC Government did not recognise the colonial era treaties.

Nationality of holders

A home return permit constitutes proof of PRC citizenship; however, not all PRC citizens in Hong Kong or Macao have a home return permit. Unlike a compulsory Hong Kong identity card, application for a home return permit is voluntary. A home return permit must be applied for. In some cases, the PRC authorities refuse to issue permits to certain people. Some prominent Hong Kong politicians, such as Emily Lau and Leung Kwok Hung, have had their applications denied because they are not considered friendly to the central government in Beijing. Without the permit they are denied from entering mainland China; however, those politicians are still PRC citizens under the Chinese nationality law; acquisition of PRC citizenship of ethnic Chinese residents in Hong Kong is involuntary, although they are able to renounce Chinese citizenship if they hold a foreign nationality.

They are still eligible for an Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passport issued by the Immigration Department of the Hong Kong Government, or an MSAR passport by the Macao Government. The SAR passports are only issued to PRC citizens with the Right of Abode in Hong Kong or Macao. The HKSAR passport allows travel to other countries, including Taiwan. PRC citizens holding an HKSAR passport cannot use the SAR passport to enter the Chinese mainland. The HKSAR Government thinks that "in line with the one country principle, it was considered inappropriate to adopt HKSAR passport as a travel document to enter the Mainland". ^*

Issues facing British passport holders

Many, but not all, residents of Hong Kong are British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) and a small number are British Citizens (BC). (See British nationality law and Hong Kong for details). The PRC Government does not recognise British passports (BN(O) and BC) issued to Hong Kong residents of Chinese origin. They cannot use their BN(O) or British Citizen passports to enter the Chinese mainland before and after the handover. However, before the handover some 'pro-United Kingdom' Hong Kong politicians, such as Margaret Ng Emily Lau ^*" target="_blank" >^*" target="_blank" >and Christine Loh [http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/97/0905/feat5.html used to attempt to use their British Citizen passports to enter mainland China because they were denied from applying for a Home Return Permit. There were rare occasions when British passport holders were issued a visa, even when the holder was a PRC citizen under Chinese Nationality Law.

In 2005, Ching Cheong (程翔), a Hong Kong-based journalist of the Singaporean newspaper The Straits Times, was arrested by the mainland national security authorities. He was accused of 'stealing state secrets'. The correspondent entered the mainland on his home return permit, while he is also a BN(O) passport holder. Since he is both PRC citizen and British National (Overseas) (as well as a permanent resident of Singapore), some organisations (for example, the Hong Kong Journalists' Association and Reporters without borders) urged the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to intervene. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it had no plans to comment on the case. British officials have indicated that if there were any representations to be made, they would take place behind the scenes. A London spokesperson said: "We can offer consular assistance but we cannot interfere in the legal affairs of another country." The PRC central government never recognised his British National (Overseas) status. The PRC states that its citizens from Hong Kong cannot enjoy United Kingdom consular protection inside the PRC on the basis of their BN(O) or BC passports. In the Six-Monthly Report (January-June 2005) on Hong Kong (paragraph 61) (press release (full report in PDF(186KB) [http://www.britishconsulate.org.hk/common/17thSixMonthlyReport.pdf) presented by the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, it is stated that "Mr Ching is a British National (Overseas) passport holder and we have pressed the central authorities for information on the circumstances of his arrest and will continue to seek consular access as a matter of urgency, which so far has been denied."

There are other cases that the British Government was asked to assist BN(O) passport holders detained inside the Chinese mainland. [http://www.fmcoprc.gov.hk/chn/xwfb/gsxwg/2000/t40816.htm

Not all BN(O) and BC passport holders in Hong Kong are PRC citizens. Such non-citizens holding BN(O)s or BCs need a visa prior to their travel into the mainland. Home return permits are issued to PRC citizens only.

Issues facing other foreign passport holders

Besides BN(O)s, BCs, and Chinese citizenship, many Hong Kong residents have obtained overseas citizenship in countries such as Australia, Canada or the United States. Officially speaking, if they have not made a "declaration of change of nationality" at the Immigration Department of Hong Kong, they are regarded as PRC citizens while anywhere in the Peoples' Republic of China. In this case, they are required to use their home-visit permits to enter China instead of their foreign passports, as most of such dual nationals do. This implies that they are still PRC citizens. A small number of such dual nationals use their foreign passports to enter China and they are issued the Chinese visa "in error". The issue of whether these dual nationals can enjoy foreign consular protection while in China remains controversial. The PRC central government claims that such nationals cannot enjoy foreign consular protection even though they entered China on their foreign passports. The foreign government may claim that those dual citizens can enjoy foreign consular protection even though they entered mainland China on a home return permit. In Taiwan, multiple national citizenships are fully recognised by the Republic of China.

Reciprocal treatment for Mainland China residents

PRC citizens that are residents in the mainland are required to apply for an exit endorsement to visit Hong Kong and Macao just as they would for other countries.

External links

港澳居民來往內地通行證

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