Hong Kong and Macau passport holders must list their nationality and their document’s place of issue as China to apply for a permit under the United Kingdom’s updated mandatory electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme, the Post has found.

Attempts to list either Hong Kong or Macau as the travel document’s place of issue or the applicant’s nationality – an option the system provides – triggered information pages stating that passport holders from either city were “not eligible” for the permit.

From Wednesday, non-Europeans from 49 places or countries, including Hong Kong and Macau passport holders, must have an ETA to travel to the UK. Europeans will also need the permit from April 2.

To apply for the permit, applicants are required to upload a copy of their passport through an official website or mobile app. The system then automatically detects the listed nationality, place of issue and other passport details. Each application costs £10 (US$13.1).

But a Post reporter found that uploading a copy of a Hong Kong passport to the system saw the applicant’s nationality and the document’s place of issue listed as China.

When the reporter tried to change the nationality to “Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China”, he was brought to a page stating that applicants cannot apply for an ETA using a passport from the city.