Home Return Permit

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Back of current card
Back of current card

Home Return Permit (Simplified Chinese: 回乡证; Traditional Chinese: 回鄉證; pinyin: Huíxiāng Zhèng), also referred to as Home Visit Permit, or China Back Home Pass, is the colloquial name for the national identity document officially known as the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents (Simplified Chinese: 港澳居民来往内地通行证; Traditional Chinese: 港澳居民來往內地通行證; pinyin: Gǎng-Aò Jūmín Láiwǎng Nèidì Tōngxíngzhèng) issued to citizens of Hong Kong and Macao as the entry permit to mainland China. The permit is issued by the Public Security Bureau of Guangdong province through China Travel Service sub-branches in Hong Kong and Macao and allows holders to travel freely to and take up employment in mainland China.

Contents

[edit] History

pre-1999 permit
pre-1999 permit

Before the transfer of sovereignty, home return permits were issued to any ethnic Chinese person in Hong Kong or Macao.

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Prior to 1999, permits resembled a passport. Although never recognized as such by the Chinese Government, it is officially known as Home-Visiting Certificate for Compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao (Simplified Chinese: 港澳同胞回乡证; Traditional Chinese: 港澳同胞回鄉證; pinyin: Gǎng-Aò Tóngbaō Huíxiāng Zhèng). These booklets were considered inconvenient, because they were large and cumbersome to carry around. Furthermore, the booklets were also found to be inefficient because they could only be used at manned checkpoints where a manual stamp could only be made by an immigration official. Thus they are being phased out as residents replace them upon expiration.

[edit] Appearance

The current permit is a wallet-sized card which facilitates entry into China at any manned immigration checkpoint or through self-service electronic gates (currently available only at Hong Kong-Shenzhen and Macao-Zhuhai crossings). These gates read the permit cards with an optical reader and use biometric software to match thumb prints and facial scans with those on record.[citation needed]

[edit] Validity

Most adult permits are valid for 10 years and minors under 18 years old are issued permits for three years. Temporary permits are given for practical reasons, such as when a person's permit has expired and the replacement has not arrived. There have been instances of limited single and double entry home visit permits issued due to political reasons. For instance, controversial individuals such as pro-democracy politicians--often from Hong Kong--are only issued single visit permits.

[edit] 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.

They are still eligible for an 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 foreign countries and regions. Note that the HKSAR passport may not be used for travel to Macao; and while it is not to be used as a travel document for travel to Taiwan, it is nonetheless used in conjunction with the entry permit issued by the Taiwanese authorities so to prove the identity of the holder. PRC citizens holding an HKSAR passport cannot use the SAR passport to enter the Chinese mainland. The HKSAR Government has once stated that "in line with the one country principle, it was considered inappropriate to adopt HKSAR passport as a travel document to enter the Mainland"[1].

[edit] 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). The PRC Government does not recognise British passports (BN(O) and BC) issued to Hong Kong residents of Chinese nationality. They cannot use their BN(O) or British Citizen passports to enter the Chinese mainland before and after the handover.

[edit] 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 in the Peoples' Republic of China. In this case, they are required to use their home-visit permits to enter mainland China instead of their foreign passports. 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. In Taiwan, multiple national citizenships are fully recognised by the authorities there: see Entry Permit of HK and Macao Residents (Republic of China on Taiwan).

[edit] 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.

[edit] Incidents

[edit] Mr. Ching

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, British National (Overseas), as well as a permanent resident of Singapore). Some organisations like 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. The Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom 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[2][3]. 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.

[edit] Pro-UK Politicians

Before the handover some pro-United Kingdom Hong Kong politicians, such as Margaret Ng[4][5], Emily Lau[6][7], Leung Kwok Hung and Christine Loh[8] attempted to use their British Citizen passports to enter mainland China because they were denied from applying for a Home Return Permit. These were rare occasions since they were considered to be detrimental to China. 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 may elect to forfeit their Chinese citizenship if they hold a foreign nationality, except the British National (Overseas) status and the British citizenship obtained in the British Nationality Selection Scheme.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Bibiliography

  • Book in Chinese: 張勇、陳玉田：《香港居民的國籍問題》（出版社：三聯書店（香港））

[edit] References

  1. ^ HK Gov. " Legco." LegCo Panel on Security. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
  2. ^ HKhrc. " HKhrc." Local Human Rights Issues. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
  3. ^ FmcoprcHKhrc. " Fmcoprc." Office of the Comissioner of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
  4. ^ HK Human Rights Monitor. " HKhrm." Rule of Law Protector should not be left unprotected. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
  5. ^ HK Human Rights Monitor. " HKhrm." Rule of Law Protector should not be left unprotected. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
  6. ^ BBC News. " BBC." Pro-democracy politician in Hong Kong gives up British citizenship. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
  7. ^ HK Human Rights Monitor. " HKhrm." Report on 1998 Legislative Council Election. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
  8. ^ Asiaweek. " Asiaweek." Newly Found Patriotism. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
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