It's all pretty much here although the layout is a little confusing.

http://www.bjgaj.gov.cn/epolice/qianzheng2.htm

I don't know about the whole entrusting raising of the kids to relatives deal how would that hold up in a custody battle here.

I Also heard from the police station people when i was doing my visa stuff that under 16's have to redo there police station paper every 3months, not every 12months like adults.

Can't wait till i get the green book next year 10yrs of not having to worry about visa issues.

I went through this many years ago. We lived in Guangdong at the time, and nobody there could lay out the facts for us or answer our questions about our baby's citizenship status. They would only refuse to accept her US passport as proof of US citizenship because she was born in China to a Chinese citizen mother.

Months later, when we visited my wife's hometown in Sichuan, we visited the local police station to get a Chinese passport for my wife. We inquired there, and the gentleman was very helpful. He pulled out the law book and showed us in black and white print where children born to Chinese citizens (either mother, father, or both) in China were Chinese citizens by birth.

They rejected the US passport, and said that if we wanted the baby to leave China, we needed to get a Chinese passport. It was simple enough, but there was one more thing that concerned me.

Since the mother is Chinese and NOT American, with no guarantees of her being able to visit or live in the US, and should something happen to me, the baby might have to leave China due to visa expiration should I choose to use the US passport and get her a visa for China. I thought this was ridiculous, because in a way it might force separation of mother and daughter (only two years old at the time). That did not seem right to me, just because of a minor issue on citizenship status.

When I filed the paperwork for US citizenship at the consulate in GZ, they told me that when my daughter turned 18, she could choose which country she wanted to be a citizen of, and that the paperwork would be valid as proof of her US citizenship from that date forward.

Knowing this, I decided it would be best to let my daughter remain a Chinese citizen while in China (China does not recognize dual citizenship).

Call me crazy, but if something happened to me and the very young daughter have to leave China with no adult to take care of her, that does not sound like a very nice option to me. Of course, practicality might allow bending the law in the case of mother and daughter. At any rate, if you have a birth certificate issued by a Chinese hospital, that should satisfy the Chinese as to the baby's Chinese citizenship status, but not sure how that would be viewed if the child was already in China on a US passport and Chinese visa.

It's a lot to think about. We never know what will happen to us ... and should something happen to us, what would happen to our child(ren)? Not all of us have family members back home to help out.

I didn't write this very well. Maybe need more coffee. Hope this helps just a little.

In order to take an American citizen child born in China out, you need an exit stamp. Just take the child's passport and birth certificate to the PSB and they will give her one.

China will not recognize dual citizenship and a child born to a foreigner and a Chinese citizen will not be allowed to retain both citizenships should the Chinese government find out. If they see that the child was born to an American and a Chinese citizen, they will ask for the mother's hukou book and, if the baby is listed in the hukou, the baby's registration will be cancelled thus depriving them of the right to Chinese citizenship.

Although ACS tells you that the child has until they are 18 years old to choose which citizenship they prefer, they forgot to explain to you that a) the process is much more difficult for the child to choose US citizenship the older they get and b) the baby cannot choose Chinese citizenship so late in the stage. By difficult, I mean that usually newborns are granted a Report of Birth Abroad (US birth certificate) with minimal hassle, but when they get older there is a good chance they will require DNA confirmation of parentage.

The best option, assuming you think the baby should maintain two citizenships, is to have the baby registered in the US Consulate and also in the mother's hukou book. Obtain both passports, but use the baby's Chinese passport to exit China and then via Hong Kong to the States on their US passport.

Sure. Saves time, hassle and money that way. Plus it goves you the option of choosing which citizenship you prefer -- or even maintain both.

Do you think you will have the American Passport in time to leave in April? There are a number of requirements necessary to get that Passport and getting the proof at times is difficult. You must prove that you have been in the USA continuously for 5 years and they are pretty strict on what is used as proof. I think also that since you are married, there are other documents that are necessary as well regarding your gf. If you are not aware of those things, please check the US Embassy website for the information in the American Citizen Service section.

Good luck.

You mean you already have a US passport for the baby and they will not give you an exit stamp?

In any event, to obtain a Chinese passport for the child the process is not so difficult. First, take your child's Chinese birth certificate along with your wife, her ID and hukou book to the police station inher hometown handling her hukou. They will add the baby to the hukou book. I'm not sure about in your wife's hometown, but in Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai they will usually do it immediately, but sometimes will ask you to come back after a couple of days.

Once the baby is entered in the hukou book, then you can apply for a passport. Again, in big cities the process isn't so bad and takes about a week or less. But in your wife's hometown, things may be different.

This is what I did. The officials in my wife's hometown (remote in Sichuan) added our daughter to the family hukou immediately (on the spot, no waiting). We then returned to the PSB section that handles passports, and applied for a Chinese passport for our daughter. It took about a week, so a family member picked it up and mailed it to us.

gdbill -- interesting information about citizenship proof, DNA, etc. I never really thought too much about how hard it might be to prove she is a US citizen as my daughter gets older. Thanks.

As the child gets older the consulate is more and more worried about fraud. Many times for older children they will require DNA testing to determine parentage. Of course, DNA tests would confirm, say, you as the parent, but there are other problems that come up such as if the US citizen parent is deceased or original birth certificates have been lost.

Another problem is that a consular report of birth abroad cannot be issued for a child over 18.

OK, my baby is half Chinese, half white. I am British. When he was born here, we got a Chinese hukou for him. This summer my wife and I are planning on taking him back to the UK. We had been planning to use the Chinese passport, with a UK visa put in it. But now my wife is saying she doesn't want to have to pay for the visa, so she wants to use his British passport with the exit stamp? Is this possible now or will we get fined and have the hukou/chinese passport taken away?

Right. Well for me personally, I would rather pay the odd visa fee now and then, and keep both nationalities open for my baby, than have one route cut off (and piss off the Chinese authorities, which is the last thing I want to do) for him.

My wife is a typical Chinese woman - only thinks about money. I've explained to her many times that we could get into trouble doing this, and that the "foreign visa in chinese passport" is the way that ALL foreigners take their bi-national babies out of China, but she just does not listen.

Well the visa is done for me by my school. But I agree regarding the primary schools (actually I'm in Dalian not Beijing, but the same things will apply). It makes sense to keep both options open.

Please be aware that some countries *coughcanadacough* will not issue visas to people they know to be citizens. To maintain the Chinese passport you should go home through a 3rd country. You obtain a visitor's visa in the Chinese passport for Country A, and then proceed to your home on your home country's passport. Tahdah, all the stamps you need in the appropriate places, and generally no one the wiser on this end.

Japan is a favourite of most Western/Chinese families as most countries do not need a visa to visit as a tourist. Singapore or Thailand may also work for you.

No. You just get the exit stamp for the American passport. Getting a chinese passport is a pointless waste of time and money, as I have discovered.

Actually the exit permit is an entirely seperate booklet, it is not a stamp in the US passport.I went through the extremely annoying process of procuring this booklet after my daughter already had a US passport/birth certificate, as these documents alone were not sufficient for her to exit the country after her birth. They will not use an English name on this document and it has no bearing at all on the child's status as a US citizen. In any case, please let everyone know the route you decided to take. I believe there are many people in international families who face this situation.

got a question for you. we have exact same situation. i am British and my wife is chinese. we once called English Embassy in Shanghai and were told baby can not hold two passports. he will lose his chinese Hukou after he gets british passport. so could you tell us details what you did to get chinese and british passport for baby at the same time?
p.s right now, we have chinese birth certificate with chinese name on it. can this chinese name also used for british passport or we need to make a a new english name?
thanks a lot!