The United Kingdom says the Hong Kong government has no authority to dictate which passports are recognized by foreign authorities, after its former colony asked 14 countries to stop accepting British National (Overseas) passports as valid travel documents, according to a Friday news report.

“The U.K. will continue to issue British National (Overseas) passports, which remain valid travel documents,” a spokesperson for the British Foreign Office told Reuters when asked about an article the wire agency carried the day before.

Separately, both Australia and New Zealand also told Apple Daily that they would continue to recognize the passports as valid documents.

New Zealand received a letter from Hong Kong in February requesting the country to reject the passport in applications for working holiday visas, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.

On Thursday, the Hong Kong government confirmed Reuters’ earlier report, that it had officially informed 14 countries in Europe, North America and parts of Asia with working holiday arrangements with the city that Hongkongers should use the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport when applying for a visa.

Of the 14 countries, only Hungary, which has been pro-China in recent times, has so far acknowledged starting discussions about possible changes to its working holiday programme.

According to the news report, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Sweden said that they would continue to recognize BN(O) passports for visas. The Foreign Affairs Ministry in Seoul said it had not received any such letter. It was as yet uncertain if the United States had received the letter, but the Department of State said that the BN(O) passport remained valid for visa-issuing purposes and for travel.

A Western diplomat who saw the letter told Reuters that most countries would ignore the request as the Hong Kong government did not have the right to tell others which foreign passports they could accept.

Another Hong Kong-based diplomat said that traditionally, the local government would not behave in this way as it would pay heed to the city’s image as an international financial center.

In January, the London government launched a new visa scheme for BN(O) passport holders in Hong Kong that allowed them to work and live in the U.K., and to eventually apply for citizenship.

The Beijing and Hong Kong governments responded to the move by declaring that they would not recognize the British-issued passport as a valid travel or identity document with effect from Jan. 31, 2021.

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