The "your son can wait until he's an adult" claim by the Chinese authorities is giving me serious cause for concern. I was planning on waiting a few years until returning to the UK and at that point changing my childs nationality (gaining British citizenship & cancelling Chinese citizenship). I was under no illusion that the process would be particularly easy or efficient but i assumed as the legal guardian of the child it'd be my choice as to my child's nationality.

I'm going to get in contact with the British Embassy to see what their take on the situation is regards such a claim and possibly even feel out the authorities in my wife's hukou area as to what their attitude might be towards any future application for relinquishing Chinese citizenship.

I'll let you know if i get any answers.

CL, the incompetence and/or face saving are possible with the Chinese officials in my case; however, I somehow doubt it this time. We got married in my wife's residence (hukou) area, and then we dealt with officials there as well. The Chinese Consulate in Hong Kong confirmed the ambiguous claim that "my son can wait and make his decision until he is an adult".

My son and I are planning to travel to Canada, and so I'd love to know whether any family in similar situations has applied for a visa outside the kid's place of birth and in his/her parent's homeland. For us, being refused a Chinese visa in Toronto wouldn't be the worst thing that'd happen to my son, although it'd mean that he'd have to use the Chinese "Travel Document" and a lot of red tape out of mainland China then.

Cheers and beers

Magister, the authorities are saying that he can give up the Chinese citizenship when he is an adult. Another words, we are supposed to wait for our son to grow in an ambiguity if we wish to stay on mainland China until then.

Cheers and beers

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.

My Chinese wife and i are expecting our first child in August. As i understand it, the child will automatically be considered a Chinese citizen given that it'll be born in China and has at least 1 Chinese parent. You say that your child holds Canadian Citizenship. Does that mean your child (who will also have been considered Chinese at birth) has had his Chinese citizenship relinquished? From the Chinese perspective you are either Chinese or not i.e. the Chinese authorities don't recognise dual nationality even though Canada and most other Western countries do.

I am sorry but this below was my whole post on the topic. Perhaps, I have missed the first paragraph when copying it off my saved document.

I’ve been in China for more than a decade, I am married to a Chinese for half a decade, and I have a four-year-old son born in the country. A local PSB has told me the permanent residency, which is available according to the Chinese regulations, isn’t currently procurable. The good news is that I can tell my Chinese family that with a drop of blood and some other appropriate documentation I still can obtain either one year spousal or work residency.

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