With its burgundy cover and coat of arms, the British National (Overseas) passport or BN(O) might look like a regular “full” British passport.  But just as a book cannot be judged by its cover – the relative benefits and rights offered by a BN(O) are complicated. For nearly a decade after July 1, 1997 – when former British colony Hong Kong was handed back to Chinese sovereignty – the BN(O) passport was the most popular travel document among Hongkongers.