@jj123 My child (1 year old) has his UK passport already which creates problems.
The problem that arises is, what destination country or region’s visa will the child show upon exiting mainland China?
United Kingdom: According to the UK government, a person “may not obtain a visa for the UK in a Chinese passport if you also hold a British passport.” So if the child already holds a British passport, you may need to either relinquish it to apply for a UK visa in the child’s PRC passport or travel to the UK through a third country.
For regular visits back to the UK (at least once a year) we're going to need to go one way or the other soon.
We've delayed the renouncing route for our 4 year old by getting a Entry/Exit visa for our child each time we want him to leave the country (it's a separate little booklet, not something in a passport). It's a few forms, minimal fee and 3-5 working days. You can only use the visa once, but it's a straightforward process. PSB near TouDong Stadium.
(Traveling through a third country doesn't legally work because of the need for entry/exit stamps in the relevant passports).
@redjon,
That is interesting. I wonder if they would know if your child had a UK passport if they also had a Chinese passport? I would assume the name would be different, as is the case with us.
But we have not gone back to the U.S. yet, so I have no idea, but it's my understanding that U.S. immigration doesn't care about such things....
Any Americans know about this?
My son was born in China (mixed parents) and is therefore considered a Chinese citizen by the Chinese authorities (and any other passports are not recognized). However, we have not got him a Chinese passport as yet (only a UK one). He flies within China on his birth certificate and leaves China on international flights on the aforementioned PSB Entry/Exit booklet. Things get more complex if you do have a Chinese passport.
@redjohn
For us, my son had to have his Chinese name on his birth certificate (only room for 4 characters!) and the British passport had to tally with his Birth Certificate, so he has a pinyin version of his name there too. Sounds different for you?
Not at all strictly on topic but I thought this book review on passports and citizenship might be of interest:
www.theguardian.com/[...]
@jj123 Same name so not worth taking risks.
@Ocean my son has an English name on his Chinese birth certificate and therefore on his British passport. No need for translations / pinyin versions. Anyway I think I'm just going to follow the way you've had no problems with and get the exit/entry docs together :o)
@nnoble Some of the excerpts from the book I could kind of reverse the situation for coming to China and how I've felt at times.
Relocating to anywhere in the world with a foreign language & culture is never going to be an easy task. Good little read but not sure I'd pay out for the full book.
@redjon
Interesting. We were told an English name wasn't possible because of computer restrictions. This was in 2013. Was your child registered more recently, may I ask?
@ocean He was registered early 2016 so maybe there has been a change.
@redjon
Ah yes, quite possibly. And about time too! Thanks
@Ocean my child who was born in November doesn't have a Chinese name on her birth certificate, just an English name. It seems they have relaxed birth certificates/ changed the software at some point recently.
