British National (Overseas) passport

British National (Overseas) passport
The cover of a 2010 version biometric British National (Overseas) passport
Issued by	United Kingdom
Type of document	Passport
Purpose	Identification
Eligibility requirements	British National (Overseas) status

The British National (Overseas) passport, commonly referred to as the BN(O) passport, is a British passport for persons with British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) status. The passport was first issued in 1987 after the Hong Kong Act 1985, from which this new class of British nationality was created. Holders of BN(O) passports were permanent residents of Hong Kong, until July 1, 1997 when Hong Kong was returned to Chinese sovereignty from British rule (especially true for non-Chinese ethnic minorities; even though born in Hong Kong).

BN(O) passports are currently issued in their latest biometric versions (as of 2014) and they bear the "electronic travel document symbol" () on the burgundy-coloured cover. The text United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is present above the coat of arms of the United Kingdom; the word Passport is printed underneath the coat of arms.

Design of the BN(O) passports are almost identical to that of the British Citizen passports, except that the latter bear the text European Union on their front cover. The current BN(O) passport's cover is also identical to that of the British Overseas Territories Citizen (formerly British Dependent Territories Citizen), British Overseas Citizen, British Protected Person and British Subject passports.

The holder's page is identical to the identification page of British Citizen passports with the nationality being indicated as British National (Overseas). The machine-readable zone starts with P<GBR, indicating Great Britain (the United Kingdom) as the passport's issuing country. The request page, made in the name of the 'Secretary of State' (currently the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs), is also identical to that of a British Citizen passport. The nationality on the machine readable zone, however, is GBN rather than GBR.