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anonymous
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Q: Do children of foreign-Chinese couples born in China automatically get foreign citizenship?

How does it work if you have a child with a Chinese partner and the child is born in China? Does he/she automatically get the citizenship of the foreign parent?

12 years 37 weeks ago in  Visa & Legalities - China

 
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Posts: 121

Governor

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I can only speak for the USA, the policy is that I have until my daughters 15th birthday to delcare her a US citizen. For now she is Chinese, which allows her to attend school and not obtain a visa to stay here.

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12 years 37 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1

Governor

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I speak for UK citizens. My son has a British Passport and, by British regulations, he may also have a China Passport. However, China does not allow both.
In short, the child may have either the mother's or father's citizenship.

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12 years 20 weeks ago
 
Posts: 3318

Emperor

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You have to apply to your embassy, or register the kid.

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12 years 20 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1197

Shifu

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I think if the mother is Chinese then the child is automatically Chinese. Gonna have to get that squared away at the embassy or consulate.

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12 years 20 weeks ago
 
Posts: 461

Shifu

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According to Chinese legislation, the law is the following.
Art. 3 states that "China doesn't recognize dual or more nationality for any Chinese national".
Art 4 states that "any person born in China whose parents are both Chinese nationals or one of whose parents is a Chinese national shall have Chinese nationality".
Art. 5 states that "any person born abroad whose parents are both Chinese nationals or one of whose parents is a Chinese national shall have Chinese nationality. But a person whose parents are both Chinese nationals and have both settled abroad, or one of whose parents is a Chinese national and has settled abroad, and who has acquired foreign nationality at birth shall not have Chinese nationality".

In short,
1) Chinese+Chinese => child gets the Chinese nationality automatically (see Art. 5 for exemption in case of both Chinese parents have settled abroad)
2) Chinese+Foreigner => child gets the Chinese nationality automatically
3) Foreigner+Foreigner => child needs to apply for the Chinese nationality (several conditions are requested for a foreign child/adult to apply for it)

My son's situation is the example 2: I am binational (Swiss & Italian), my wife is Chinese, my child is born in China. He first got the Chinese nationality, then the Swiss nationality and finally the Italian one. However, since only Switzerland and Italy recognized the dual nationality, none of his passports were recognized by the Chinese authorities. So, we needed to apply for the "re-examination of Chinese nationality" procedure through which our child lost his Chinese nationality.

Pros/cons of the Chinese nationality for children.
1) with the Chinese nationality, they can attend to local Chinese schools for Chinese nationals only (as opposed to local international Chinese schools open to both Foreigners and Chinese, or to private international school also open to both Foreigners and Chinese)
2) with the Chinese nationality, they need to be registered in the Chinese partner's hukou.
3) with the Chinese nationality, they are not entitled to get any ID cards until the majority. So if you plan to open a bank account for your child only, it's not possible.
4) with the Chinese nationality, they have to apply for a visa every time you plan to travel out of China (if you have lots of money that's find, but if you have to make a 100'000 RMB deposit, then you think twice about travelling)

Until the child of a mixed couple (Chinese-Foreigner) doesn't leave China, he is still considered a Chinese citizen. The "re-examination of Chinese nationality" procedure would also delivered a "visa" pass for the child to be given to the Immigration desk when leaving China. Otherwise, without this procedure, parents of a mixed couple need to apply for a Chinese passport for the child and any relevant visa from the foreign embassy of the country you plan to travel to.

Each country and their related consulate/embassy has different procedures or requires different documents to grant the child its foreign citizenship (for instance mine needed that the Chinese birth certificate doesn't mention a Chinese name and a Western name on it for the child, so I have to reapply for a new birth certificate), so you better check with your consulate/embassy for more information.

Nessquick:

After our son born here in China, they asked us, if we apply for chinese or other citizenship. We choosed for Czech citizenship, as my Embassy told me before, that children always follow father name and nationality, if we are married with his mom. 

So during maybe a year and half we finished the procedure of getting his Czech "family tree", Czech nationality prove and of Course Czech Passport. After 3 month we are going to visit family, but seems to be a bit complicated, because we are now required to do some " exit visa" or Exit allowance or how they call it. Need apply in mothers hometown area, so i hope it will be easy going . If you have any more info about this, please, I am listening :)

11 years 3 days ago
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12 years 20 weeks ago
 
Posts: 4

Governor

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The law in China is quite simple, if one of the parents is a Chinese National and the child is born in China, the child is a Chinese Citizen, there is no other option. He gets his Chinese birth certificate, the main point here is to make sure your Foreign name is on the certificate in ENGLISH. The Child is than registered at the local Police Station in charge of Hukou's, gets his ID card and all is good. Children under 16 can now get what they call a temporary ID card, testing that one tomorrow.
In the case of Australia, I am lead to believe and will test it next week. That our son can apply for Australian Citizenship by decent as one of his parents is Australian. Once that is granted, he gets an Australian Passport.
He than, therotically has two choices, he can apply for a once only leave China visa, basically an application to renouce his Chinese Citizenship and go to Australia and enter on his Australian passport, and he is a Australian. 
Or he can travel to Australia on his Chinese passport and appropriate visa, and come back to China when he likes.
It makes some sense to leave the child a Chinese citizen as long as your both living in China, especially with schooling etc. Once his other citizenship is granted, I do not believe they can take it away from him, so he can decide when he wants to renouce his Chinese citizenship and take up Australian Citizenship, if ever.

Huodiwen:

Good post mate, I guess the baby's name on the Chinese Hukou registeration would be in Chinese, and the foreign citizenship by descent would be in English?

10 years 17 weeks ago
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12 years 20 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1008

Shifu

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Ohh my some of you have really had a hard time so I'll let you in a the secret. Yes if the child is born to a foreign Chinese relationship then by birth he is Chinese, but wait and hold on, after birth you apply for a temp. household registration with the birth certificate of the foreign partners name on it. You ask for the permission to exit card because even if the child has another passport the child is not allowed to exit without this, and it's extremely difficult it the parents apply for a perm. household registration after birth( DO NOT DO THAT) once this is done, you apply for the foreign passport, once the passport comes in and hopefully the foreign parent is on a resident visa, you fly the child to Hong Kong on the exit card and apply for a long term L visa for the child. Once you reenter you go to the PSB with the foreign parent and their passport and they will duplicate the childs resident visa to the foreign parents resident visa.

 

The way Sangoku had to go WOW, sorry for that. For those of you who are thinking that well I just want exit China with the child and if an emergency comes up I'll run to the embassy. NO, embassies will not care if the child is your's, they only care about their nationality. If you get the foreign passport first, the exit card is nearly impossible to get and they will say that the child will need a visa to exit, the child will be in a fine mess. The embassy will also tell you that a child cannot apply for a visa to the parents home country if they have the nationality of said country.

 

My son has both a Chinese and Canadian American Passport, it's not dual citizenship with China. We received his temp. household reg. after he was three months, from that point we went and applied for an exit card, all this was done and finished in about 3 months. After he received the exit card I applied for his American and Canadian Passport. This was done and finished in 15 days. I flew my son to Hong Kong when he was 1 years old and went to the Chinese Embassy with my marriage certificate, his temp. household reg., exit card and birth certificate. In  3 days he had a 1 year multi entrance L visa. When I picked up his passport I asked the PSB official if I needed to give up the temp. household reg. She said no, although he carries a North American Passport and a valid visa  to be in China, only my son at the age of 18 can have the right to denounce his Chinese citizenship. She also told me this would help in letting him go to a Cheaper government school instead of the costly International rip off schools and he is free to come and go. Upon return to China, I took my FEC and my son and my passport to the PSB and in 5 days my son had the same visa I had and his picture on my FEC.

Nessquick:

first reading i misunderstood, now seems i get it

11 years 3 days ago
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12 years 2 days ago
 
Posts: 1008

Shifu

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Forgot to say one thing, no, the child does not get automatic citizenship. There are a lot of steps that you must take, for Australia, you must present photos of the wife during pregancy, the wife and husband together, have paid at least 5 years of tax to the government after the age of 15 and be married for at least 2 to 3 years before the child was conceived, proof that the relationship isn't a hoax for immigration

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12 years 2 days ago
 
Posts: 60

Governor

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Why not foreigner women has no chance to marry a Chinese man in China ? why they try always cheat and lie and deserve the women ???  I always read foreigner men marry Chinese women, but not  Chinese men marry foregner women, why Chinese men are so faint-heart and nonconfident ????

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11 years 50 weeks ago
 
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