My son’s existence raises another concern as my wife hasn’t been able to get him a local residency document called “hukou” on mainland China which is due to not being able to produce a document of sterility that local doctors issue after placing a contraceptive ring in a mother or after accepting a bribe. My family hasn’t been to Canada, since my son was born, although he has become a Canadian citizen. After visiting Hong Kong, to which my wife had to get permission for my son from a local mainland Police, my son carries cross border stamps in his Canadian passport as well as in his Chinese “Travel Document” issued by People’s Republic of China office in Hong Kong. My wife and I have been told that our son is considered Chinese and he can make his own decision when he is an adult.

Recent police checks in cities of Shanghai and Beijing have further caused me an anxiety over my son’s legitimate documentation as a Chinese or Canadian. He has neither a visa in his Canadian passport which the Hong Kong’s People’s Republic of China office refused to provide directing us back to Canada, nor does he have the Chinese residency document which legit kids in the country hold. I am intrigued by the situation and a possible police request of documents from my son.

Moreover, my stress level goes up, when I am thinking about my return to Canada and applying for my son’s visa back to China there, or when I am contemplating about my son’s education on mainland China where it is more difficult without a local residency to enroll kids into public schools. Coming back to China on a Chinese “Travel Document” may not be as painful as being asked for horrendous educational fees or even being turned down by Chinese schools.

I would be interested to know how foreign teachers’ families live around the world and that especially with respect to the issues I have raised above.

Cheers and beers