The Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents, also colloquially referred to as a Home Return Permit or Home Visit Permit , is issued to Chinese nationals who are permanent residents of or settled in Hong Kong and Macau as the travel document to Mainland China. The permit is issued by the Exit and Entry Administration of the People's Republic of China through China Travel Service sub-branches in Hong Kong and Macau and allows holders to travel freely to Mainland China. The name "Home Return Permit" was chosen because it was used by Chinese émigrés in Hong Kong and Macau for visits to their families in Mainland China. Most holders of this permit are people with permanent residence status in Hong Kong and/or Macau, and the permit served as a de facto identification card for Hong Kong and Macau residents in mainland China until the Residence Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents was issued in September 2018. Eligibility The Home Return Permit, under the guideline of the China Travel Service which serves as the authorized agent as the receiver of application in Hong Kong and Macau, is issued to: Permanent residents of Hong Kong or Macau possessing Chinese Nationality by birth or naturalization in one of these regions; Mainland residents who have been approved by mainland authorities to immigrate to Hong Kong or Macau and have already established residency in one of these regions (also known as one-way permit holders); Permanent residents of Hong Kong and Macau born in a country or region other than Hong Kong or Macau and possess Chinese nationality by birth, descent or naturalization. The permit is only issued by the Exit and Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security, and all applications must be made in either Hong Kong, Macau or mainland China. Hong Kong and Macau permanent residents can be issued Chinese Travel Documents when abroad, albeit with a shorter validity period. History Before the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong and Macau, "home-return permits" were issued to any ethnic Chinese person in those territories. Prior to 1999, those permits were named Home-visiting Certificate for Compatriots from Hong Kong and Macau and was a passport-like booklet. These booklets were considered inconvenient, because they were relatively cumbersome to carry around. Furthermore, the booklets were also found to be inefficient because they could only be used at manned border crossing checkpoints