I'm British, and my Chinese wife is three months pregnant. We plan to live in China long-term, but of course you never know what the future may bring. Amongst more everyday things, we've already started discussing about which passport we should apply for in due course. My wife is keen for the baby to get a British passport asap while I think a Chinese passport, certainly at first, might be the better option. I'm aware that the Chinese Government only recognise one nationality, while the British Government accept dual nationality. Has anyone been through this process already and looked into the pros and cons of each option? Any advice? I'd be grateful.

My Chinese born son is going through primary school here, having a Chinese passport is a big help.

If the British system is the same as the Australian system, then you can acquire British citizenship for your son at any time. Once your wife and son have a permanent residence visa in their Chinese passports, it's much the same as having dual passports for the 5 years that the visa is in effect.

In Australia if you spend 2 years in the country without leaving, the permanent residence has no use by date.

@atomic
Thanks for that. Helpful.

Our son is 15 months old now and we've never been asked to show any papers on him. Of course if/when we leave China it's a different thing, but for now we don't really need any papers. Regarding dual nationality, my country -like China- doesn't accept it BUT most of the time there's actually nothing they can do about it legally. If your kid has the right to Chinese citizenship he'll get it and if you go to the British embassy and he's entitled to British citizenship as well they have to dish it out also. Basically what you'll sometimes end up in are two countries both telling you you have to give up the other one's citizenship but in reality there's not much they can do about it without seriously violating the rights of the child.

Personally, I'd never want my kid to go through the east asian school system, and I don't support the concept of private schools. I'd therefore look to move back to Europe where education is constructive and creative (and, in Sweden's case, -free-) as soon as the kid reached middle school age or so, and therefore likely opt for swedish citizenship right away. Don't get me wrong, there's lots of things I love about China, but I really do think the chinese (and in particular korean and japanese) educational systems are somewhat akin to child torture, and it would be worth everything, even a ruined career, to not put my potential child through that (especially if it was a girl, and would therefore be prime subject to patriarchal brainwashing as well). This is all in my humble opinion, though.

The dual citizenship thing does seem waayyy behind the times. As more and more parents come from two different countries, its so easy to live in different countries, it starts making sense for countries to get their act together and allow it. What's the big deal really?

Regarding Natsymir's comment, my preference would be to have children in Primary school in China, then moving to the west for secondary school. The reason for that is I believe the rote, memory based learning that is apparent in China's education is great for the young. But once you start entering the teens its time for independent, analytical thinking. I tend to find most Chinese people have excellent memories, a carry over from their rote learning, but little in the way of creative reasoning. For most Westerners it seems to be the opposite, so why not get the best of both worlds if its possible?

I agree with @blobbles on the primary ed in Asia. It gives kids a very strong study ethic. Something that has been largely eroded back home. The kids will also develop a wide basic knowledge of facts. At secondary level, if they go to a western style learning institute, they can learn to apply this larger pool of knowledge.

Ref the dual citizenship. I agree it is awkward. I think the reason is to stop a huge outflow of money from a developing country. The money is now flowing out, but it is controlled.

As for legality, a few people do acquire two passports, but if it becomes apparent the authorities are not happy. I don't think the rights of the child will count for much in any argument with officialdom. It is illegal and that is black and white.

I wanted to get Chinese documentation for my son. But I was told that my son couldn't have an English name on his MCB(birth cert) if he was going to get onto my wife's Hukou.

I also got officially married a month after my so was born, Because I had to renew my passport at the time and also just turned 22 the age you are allowed get married. So we never got permission to have a baby, And we have to pay 2000rmb+ fine because of this if we want to get a Hukou.

I am in the process of getting him a passport from my country. I am wondering what happens when he gets it? Will he need to get a visa straight away or can he just leave on my countries passport? Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing?

@mamasaidknockuout, this info is outdated but goes something like this. You need to first report your son to your consulate, register him as a citizen of your country and then apply for a passport.

Once you have your passport, you'd have to take it to the Entry and Exit Bureau (Also known as the Immigration office) that used to be in JinQuan Residential quarters but has since move somewhere, do a search in Gokunming, and get an residence permit and an entry stamp.

The entry stamp is the key for you can not leave the country if you have never "entered" it in the first place. From what I've heard, the immigration officer is very strict on this stamp, without it your son will not be allowed to board the plan.

Now, I've heard stories saying that it is a very big hassle to get the stamp if one of the parent is a Chinese National, very bureaucratic with lots of paperwork, but again, this info is very outdated and perhaps this type of situation is more common now and so they have streamlined the process.

Best of luck to you.

Cheers~

I'm American and my husband is Chinese. We first got our baby son (born June of this year) an American passport, and then got him an exit/entry permit from the Exit/Entry Bureau on Beijing Lu. The bureau there told us not to put our son on my husband's household registration. We had no problem leaving China for a short trip to the States in July, but the immigration people at the airport told us we had to get him a visa to re-enter China. Maybe they didn't know what they were talking about, but we went ahead and got him a visa. I think now that we got him a visa, he's pretty much straight American and so we won't try to get him a Chinese passport. Confused?! Me, too! Seems there is a bit of a loophole when the child is born in China and one parent is foreign and the other is Chinese.